


A Story From Me to You

by Liza_Taylor



Series: Garreg Mach Academy [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Platonic Life Partners, Platonic Soulmates, Romantic Friendship, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-02-18 12:47:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 55
Words: 106,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21761125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liza_Taylor/pseuds/Liza_Taylor
Summary: Writing under the penname Fluffyteddybear48, Bernadetta enjoys writing fanfictions for her favorite series. Her current work is not doing as well as it should but she continues to write, in part due to the comments left behind by one of the fans of her work.Sylvain is Fluffyteddybear48's biggest fan. As Fluffyteddybear goes on hiatus due to midterms, Sylvain realizes there is a possibility that his favorite fanfiction author might go to the same college as him...Modern Fodlan College AU.Platonic Friendship between Sylvain and Bernadetta.
Relationships: Annette Fantine Dominic/Felix Hugo Fraldarius, Glenn Fraldarius/Ingrid Brandl Galatea, Sylvain Jose Gautier & Bernadetta von Varley
Series: Garreg Mach Academy [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1568362
Comments: 303
Kudos: 344





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> While writing Heartbeat, I was running a side plot between Sylvain and Bernadetta. The more I wrote about them in the background, the more I realized they needed a story of their own as Claude couldn't be there to witness all of it. That's why this story was born to give more detail to the side story happening between Bernie and Sylvain.
> 
> You do not need to read "A Heartbeat" to understand this one, the setting is the only thing important, Garreg Mach Academy, a school that runs from middle school all the way to college.

Bernadetta sighed and rubbed her eyes. This was it, she could not find any errors, the formatting was good, the tags updated. It was time to finally release the chapter into the world. She pressed the button and the couple seconds wait for the chapter to be submitted was agony.

Thankfully it went through no problem and she quickly checked it over on the site to make sure everything looked good.

She sighed in relief and looked at the clock on the wall. Ten AM. She had gotten up early to get some homework done but decided to release the latest chapter of her fanfiction instead. She knew her readers would understand but she liked being punctual with her updated, Fluffyteddybear48 had a reputation to uphold after all!

Well she had a few hours until her first class of the day, her creative writing class. She had to type up a one thousand word story about a falling leaf. Not really her usual cup of tea as someone who loved writing daring tales and spicy romances and her latest fic, _A Long Lasting Dream_ , set in the world of _Awakening_ , a popular video game, had plenty of that to go around.

She cracked her fingers and opened a new document. “Focus Bernie,” she murmured before beginning to type away.

***

Sylvain let out a long yawn and scrolled through his feed as he waited for Professor Hanneman’s class to begin. The coffee he had this morning was not helping with the long night he had yesterday. Well, a long fun night. He couldn’t remember the name of the girl but her breasts were quite large.

“Here, take one of these and shut that mouth of yours.” Felix tossed an energy shot bottle and it was only Sylvain’s fast reflexes that prevented him from being smacked in the head with it.

“Always can count on you to have one of these on you at all times.” Sylvain saluted Felix before downing the whole thing. “You better not tell Ingrid I had one of these.”

Felix smirked. “And not see the show? I’m letting her know.”

“Oh come on Felix, I had a good night yesterday. I want to have a good morning too!”

Felix made a face. “I really didn’t need to know that.”

Sylvain shrugged and looked down at his phone as he saw a notification go off. An email for a fanfiction site. His eyes widen as he quickly opened the email and gasped. “Fluffyteddybear48 updated their fic!?”

Felix stared at him with palatable unamusment. “I thought you weren’t in that fandom?”

Sylvain shook his head as he tapped the link to the new chapter. “You don’t understand. This is Fluffyteddybear48! Their stuff is amazing. You can take notes for me right? Oh man, it’s so long.” It had to be close to 10k if anything! He checked the word count at the top of the page. Yup. 10k.

“Seriously? You don’t have to read it right away.”

“I have to. Their work is amazing and deserves it!”

Felix shook his head. “Suit yourself. Also do you really have to keep repeating that username?”

“Well duh.” Sylvain set up his notebook and textbook so it blocked the view of his phone sitting on the table. “Tell me when class is done or if the Professor is looking at me okay?”

Felix groaned but Sylvain wasn’t worried. Despite his complaining and bluntness, they had known each other since they were children, Felix would go through hell and back for him and Sylvain would do the same. And well, Ingrid would be waiting for them at the entrance, ready to pull them both by the ear for doing something so stupid. And Dimitri, well he could go either way really, it really depended on the day.

Sylvain was only a few paragraphs in when he heard Professor Hanneman clear his throat. Looking up, he saw the professor standing at the podium, a young woman next to him. “Hello everyone, I think it is time we get started. I guess first we should start with introductions.” He gestured to Byleth. “This is Byleth, the TA for the class. She was supposed to start in the beginning of the year but there was a slight mishap but she is here now. She will have her own office hours and able to tutor anyone that needs help in my class.”

Out of habit, Sylvain gave the new TA a once over. Blue hair, an ample chest, a narrow waist. She was pretty he had to admit and very much his type. Although for some reason, the more he stared at her, the more he didn’t want to think of her in _that_ way. Weird.

“But before we get into today’s lesson, a pop quiz.” Hanneman gestured to Byleth.

Sylvain cursed under his breath. “I’m nowhere near done,” he muttered.

“Take the dang quiz and then get back to it idiot,” grumbled Felix.

True, but Robin was currently contemplating her feelings for Chrom! Sylvain had to know if this was the chapter they were finally going to get together or not!

Sylvain shoved his phone into his pocket as Byleth came up to their row and handed the quizzes to the person on the end of the row of desks. He grabbed one off the pile and handed it to Felix before giving it a once over. Last week’s lesson about the year of 1412. With a roll of his eyes, Sylvain twirled his pen and flew through the answers as fast as he could. A few times he paused, deciding to go with the “wrong” answer. His goal was to coast by college on a B average. His father always complained about Sylvain not applying himself but his future had already been decided for him, why should he bother putting in more effort than he needed to?

Once finished with his B-average quiz, Sylvain gave it a once over to make sure everything looked right before getting up and racing over to Byleth who was waiting in the front of the classroom. In a normal situation, he would have given the TA a wink and a flirtatious smile but Sylvain really wanted to know what was going to happen next between Robin and Chrom so he just shoved the quiz in her hands before racing back to his seat.

He carefully pulled his phone out and rested it on the table, his books blocking it from view of the professor podium. It was a big risk to read it on his phone now so he waited impatiently until everyone turned in their quizzes. Felix was one of the last and Sylvain had to glare as Felix returned to his seat after handing it in to Byleth.

“Keep glaring like that and I won’t give you my notes,” Felix replied curtly.

Fair point.

Thankfully the lecture began soon after and Sylvain was free to read through the chapter. Like always, Fluffyteddybear48 had a way with words. They seemed to always be able to convey what the characters were feeling in a way that made Sylvain happy or worried or sacred or angry for the characters. And the descriptions! Fluffyteddybear48 always described the scenery in such vivid detail that he was always able to picture where the scene was happening.

By the time the class ended Sylvain had finished up the chapter. While the others packed up, he had to take a moment to take the chapter in. It had started great, Robin was complementing her feelings for Chrom and was consulting Lissa on what to do about it. About halfway through she had gone to Chrom, Sylvain had leaned forward in his seat, so ready for the confession. This was a slow burn fic, the couple dancing around each other for the past twelve chapters. Sylvain had never played the source material, his only knowledge of the game was through Fluffyteddybear48’s fic so he didn’t know if this was the same in the game itself(he doubt it since it was marked an AU fic), but they had always given enough detail that Sylvain had never felt lost or confused although if there was a game term he didn’t know, he made sure to look it up. 

Well anyway, Robin was building up to confess her feelings and Chrom was being dense like always. Well, Robin was dense too when Chrom made advances on her, they were both so dense and normally that would annoy Sylvain but Fluffyteddybear48 wrote it _so well_ that he didn’t care and he was invested in these two characters getting together. Right before she could confess, the Grimleal army attacked and Validar had cast a spell on Chrom and Robin. The spell didn’t seem to do anything and the duo had led the army to push back the Grimleal. After defeating them, Chrom had asked Robin what she wanted to say before and Robin had confessed her feelings. Sylvain wanted to get up and cheer but then Chrom had a pained look on his face and clutched his chest before collapsing in front of Robin, the chapter ending right then and there.

He needed the next chapter now! He had to know if Chrom was alright and what his response would be to Robin’s confession. Oh Seiros, he so hoped Chrom didn’t die but who knows! Only Fluffyteddybear48 knew where they were going with the story.

As the rest of the students got up to leave the classroom, Sylvain shoved his books away and threw his bag over his shoulder before focusing on writing his review as he walked down the steps to leave the classroom. “Gotta write the best review ever…it was so good…” he mumbled under his breath.

He felt a tug on the back of his collar and noticed Felix had grabbed him before he could barrel into another student. He muttered a thanks before getting back to work on his review, making sure to compliment all the great sentences and all the events in the chapter and what he was looking forward to in the next one. He also had to compliment them on releasing such a long chapter barely a week after the release of the previous one. How fast could Fluffyteddybear48 write!?

Now finished with the review, and after making sure it went through, Sylvain shoved his phone in his pocket and saw Felix checking his phone. “Ingrid said her and Annette can meet up with us for lunch.”

Sylvain grinned. “I’ll keep Ingrid busy for you.” He was really not sure how it happened but one day Felix was listening to one of Annette’s little songs and the next they were dating. Sylvain was still not sure what Felix did that drew Annette to him but they seemed happy enough.

Felix glared at him. “Don’t bother. And the boar said he would try to join us later too, if he could get out of a meeting early. Which you would know if you checked the group chat.”

“Well sorry for dealing with the biggest revelation ever! Chrom is currently unconscious because of what I suspect is something Validar did and Robin is going to worry so much in the next chapter. I have a lot on my mind okay!? Oh and when we have lunch I can have your notes right?”

Sighing, Felix held out the notebook. “Don’t get any stains on it.”

“That only happened once!”


	2. Chapter 2

Bernadetta sighed and stepped out of the locker room with her bow over a shoulder. Like always, she was done changing early for archery club. Not wanting to be on the field too early, she sat down on the bench outside the locker room and went on her phone. A few fics she was following had updates recently and she decided to read a few.

She sighed after she finished one. The writing was so good, miles better than hers. The plotting was also so much better, the plot twists coming out of nowhere but made sense with all the clues presented. If only she could write like that. Although _A Long Lasting Dream_ was doing great, it was still not doing as well as some of her previous fics. Was it because it was her first longer than a one-shot fic in the _Awakening_ fandom? Or was her writing just not that good compared to the others writing for this ship(a very popular one)?

She pulled up the reviews for her own fic and had to smile a little at FTBbiggestfan’s review on her latest chapter. Without fail they always put a smile on her face with their in depth reviews on her chapters as well as the screeching about what happened in the chapter itself. She knew they were going to freak out about Chrom collapsing at the end of the chapter, they had been gunning for Chrom and Robin to get together since chapter one.

She didn’t know how but they managed to always be the first or second review on a fic of hers and have been for almost two years at this point. She had noticed them right away due to their username, the first review for a fic she did in the Pokemon fandom. An older work but they had said they had been reading her stories for a while and finally had the courage to make an account and let her know. Since then, no matter what, they always left a review for every story she released and all of them were long and highly detailed. She didn’t even know anyone could write so much about a quick drabble but FTBbiggestfan had proved her wrong with a review that was twice the length of the drabble she had put out.

“Hey Bernie.”

Bernadetta let out a small screech of surprise, her arms flailing at the sudden voice. Claude, thankfully, had good reflexes and was able to get out of the way in time.

“Oh Claude….Hi.” She clutched her phone to her chest.

“Coach wants you on the field. She knew you lost track of time again.”

“R…right.” Bernadetta mentally cursed herself for losing track of the time again. This always seemed to happen, no matter how careful she was to keep track of time. She meekly followed behind Claude to the archery field. “Is Coach Shamir really mad?”

“No more than usual.”

She grimanced. Coach Shamir could be tough at times and Bernadetta sometimes had to focus really hard to not start crying or get very upset when Coach Shamir reprimanded her. Today was already off to a bad start.

As they reached the field, oddly enough Claude slowed to a stop, his eyes widening. Following his line of sight, she saw the head of sports, Jeralt, talking to Shamir. Next to the duo was a young woman with blue hair. It took Bernadetta a moment to place her. Byleth, the new TA for Professor Hanneman’s class. Bernadetta looked from Byleth, to Claude and back at Byleth. Maybe it was all the fanfiction she had read recently that made her think it could be something a little more. Either way, it surprised her that Claude of all people would be taken aback by the sight of a girl.

“Ah there you are.” Shamir’s eyes glinted dangerously. “Bernadetta, you’re late.”

“Sorry! So sorry!” squeaked Bernadetta.

“Stop saying it’s fine and get to practice.”

“Of course, right away ma’am!” Bernadetta hurried over to the training range and took up her usual spot and began practicing firing arrows. It took her a moment before she got back into the swing of things, her shots always tried and true. Although her usual preferred activities were writing and crafting, she had to admit, she really did enjoy archery. There was something about being able to focus on a single pinprick point and shoot an arrow with the strength of her own arms. Although they were on a team, it was a solo sport and the only thing she could really rely on was herself.

Once practice was over and everything put away, Bernadetta met Ashe outside the locker rooms and they walked to the student center for dinner together. Usually she would take her food up to her room and eat there but after practice, it was nice to eat together with someone. Especially someone like Ashe who had similar interests to her. Small talk wasn’t really her thing.

“So, I finally got to read a few more chapters in the _Sword of Kyphon._ I should be able to finish it by this weekend.”

Bernadetta smiled. “That’s great. Did you get to the part with the tree?”

Ashe’s eyes widen. “I did! You were right, it was as crazy as you warned me it would be. I really didn’t want to put it done but we had class today and I really had to pay attention. I wish I was like you Bernie and able to read super-fast.”

“It’s just practice, that’s all,” she murmured. 

It was a surprising friendship between the two of them. Last year, Bernadetta was walking through the shelves of the Garreg Mach library when she had stumbled upon Ashe standing in front of a shelf looking confused and lost. She had recognized the book in his hand as the first book in the Loog series. Knowing exactly what the problem was and with a tiny bout of courage(probably helped that they were in the enclosed space of a library), Bernadetta had spoken up, asking if Ashe was having trouble figuring out which book he was supposed to read next. The Loog series was original printed over two hundred years ago and went through numerous reprints and revisions and there were even some retellings and additions to the series over the years. Due to that, depending on which version one started with, it could sometimes be super difficult in figuring out what the next book in the series was. 

Ashe was shocked and excited to see another fan of the Loog series and since they were in archery club together, it had not taken long for the two to become friends.

Reaching the student center, Bernadetta had to wince as she saw how many students were already here. Club had run a little late today so they ended up getting here later than normal.

“Oh man, I don’t think we’re going to find a table at this rate.” Ashe shook his head. “Hmm, what to do.”

“I just remembered I have some leftovers in my dorm room. I think I’ll eat that for tonight,” Bernadetta said quickly.

Ashe frowned. “Are you talking about those instant meals? Bernie that stuff isn’t good for you.”

“It’s fine, really! I have some food from last night I completely forgot about!”

“If you say so Bernie but…”

“It’s okay! Great!” The murmur of the student center was grating on her ears. It was just so loud! She gave Ashe a final pained smile before hurrying away. As she was trying to walk out of the student center, she almost bumped into a group of people walking in.

“Whoa, hello there!” A voice having a slight purr to it.

Dread filled her stomach, the boy she had almost crashed into was super tall, the way his brown eyes looked at her made her super uncomfortable.

“Stop it!” Ingrid whacked his arm before smiling at Bernadetta. “The copy of _Loog and the Maiden of the Lake_ finally came in. Thanks so much for sending me the links Bernadetta.”

“No problem,” she murmured, her eyes darting to her shoes. Normally she would had never interacted with someone as pretty as Ingrid but Ashe knew her and found out a couple months ago that Ingrid was also a fan of the Loog series but was having trouble finding books. Ashe had asked Bernadetta for help and since then, they had maintained an odd acquaintance-level of friendship.

“Uh, if you need more help, just let me know. Uh, I have to go, uh bye.” Bernadaetta was glad she didn’t scream as she sidestepped the group and practically ran back to her dorm room. As soon as she shut her door, she sighed in relief as she took in her large collection of stuffed animals, plants, and arts and crafts projects. Thankfully she didn’t have a roommate so she didn’t have to worry about sharing her space.

Sighing, she dropped her backpack by the door before collapsing face first on her bed, grabbing the closest stuffed animal(a teddy bear) and cuddling it against her chest. Her ears were ringing slightly as she tried to calm down her pounding heart. It was way, way too loud in there.

“Darn it Bernie, you were doing so good,” she murmured. She was doing so good this semester with not going to the counseling services on campus but maybe she needed to make another appointment? “Remember to use your coping skills, you didn’t have an anxiety attack….” She sat up and pulled her laptop off her bed and opened it.

The half-finished next chapter of _A Long Lasting Dream_ looked back at her. Sighing, she pulled up her browser to go onto the game wiki to make sure what she was writing somewhat still fit into canon. Mid-terms were coming up incredibly fast and she had a lot of work to get done but she really wanted to make sure this chapter was out before she went on her midterm hiatus.


	3. Chapter 3

“So, I totally think Fluffyteddybear48 goes to our college.” Sylvain looked to his left, at Felix in confirmation.

Felix let out a long sigh and massaged the bridge of his nose. “What makes you say that?”

“Well because they said they’re going to take a hiatus for a few weeks because they have midterms. And before you say, ‘well all colleges have midterms around this time’, they also mentioned having a big history midterm to do. And Garreg Mach’s big thing is the history midterm.”

“I guess but I think you’re really stretching it.”

Was he though? He remembered the past two semesters, Flufyteddybear48 had done the same thing, the midterms and finals hiatuses always lining up with Garreg Mach academy’s. “Would it be too forward to ask them?” asked Sylvain. “I mean we have been interacting for almost two years now…”

Sadly Felix couldn’t answer as Professor Hanneman cleared his throat, signaling the beginning of history class. Sylvain rested his head in his hand and half paid attention as he took notes while turning over the thought over and over in his mind. Maybe he was looking way too hard into it but he did have more evidence to support the theory than just the hiatus schedule. Since he had been interacting with their fics for the past two years, they’ve had a lot of side conversations on the side. Nothing too deep, usually surface-level stuff like talking about the work Fluffyteddybear48’s fic was based on or just random events that occurred like how going to the store inspired the newest chapter.

One of their fics two years ago, in the author comments, they mentioned that they had gotten into college and would be pursuing an English degree. Sylvain had private messaged them, congratulating them and also revealed he would be going to college as well, business as per his family’s wishes. Neither had mentioned the college they were going to by name, but Sylvain was able to extrapolate from all the information over the years that they had to be around the same age.

Oh man, what would he do if he found out Fluffyteddybear48 went to the same school as him? That they were breathing the _same_ air? What would they even look like? Fluffyteddybear48 gave no indication of gender online or any hint to physical appearance so Sylvain had nothing to go on. What if he had passed by them on campus or bumped into them in the student center and didn’t even know it?

What in the world would he even say if he met them in person?

_“Thanks for helping me through a dark time with my brother. He was physically abusing me and then got involved with drugs, thus putting a tremendous amount of stress on me at the time. I stumbled upon your fics one day when I was wandering around the internet and they were a great source of happiness and strength for me during that difficult time?”_ Yeah, that probably wouldn’t go over well. It also felt like it was a little late to bring up something so deep like that, especially unprompted.

Sylvain felt Felix’s foot nudge against his. Glancing at his friend, Felix was gesturing with his eyes to the front of the room. While Professor Hanneman was lecturing away, Byleth was looking right at him. Without thinking, he gave her a wave and a wink back.

She turned her head and focused back on Professor Hanneman’s lecture. Man, she was a tough one. He had tried to strike up a conversation with her after class but she had kept the conversation, civil and cordial, seemingly unphased by his ninety-five success rate charm. Some girls just didn’t know what they were missing.

After class was over, Sylvain headed for the student center on his own, Felix having fencing club today. Another reason why Sylvain was so confused Annette and Felix got together as Felix always said he was more comfortable holding a sword than a girl’s hand.

Deciding today was a sushi sort of day(Garreg Mach had a huge selection of food items), Sylvain ordered a mixed platter with all types and while he waited, he flirted with the girls on line behind him. Like always, he got a few more numbers and would most likely be going on a few dates over the next couple of days.

He saw a couple tables occupied with girls he was acquaint with, but considering he was still mulling over asking Fluffyteddybear48 if they went to Garreg Mach or not, and not wanting to hear them yap in his ears about trivial topics, he took his lunch and left the cafeteria portion of the student center. The building was large with many facilities including the school store, offices for various departments, and, one of Sylvain’s favorites, lounge areas with comfortable chairs and couches for students to relax at. Due to the time of day, his favorite lounge area with the best chairs and tables was empty and he set up his lunch in a corner.

While he ate the sushi pieces with his chopsticks, he began pulling together a message for Fluffyteddybear48. “No…that’s too forward. No, that might be too subtle….” Ugh. He was usually so good with words when talking to girls but why was it so difficult to come up with a way to ask Fluffyteddybear48 about going to the same college? It was a simple yes or no question for crying out loud!

“You seem deep in thought for once.”

Sylvain looked up. “Oh, hi Dimitri.”

Like always the vice president of the student body was dressed pristine as ever. Dedue, like always was a few steps behind him, trying to look relaxed but poised to strike if needed. With Dimitri being the heir to a billion dollar company, the Blaiddyd Conglomerate, his family had insisted Dimitri bring a bodyguard with him to the academy. Sylvain thought it was ridiculous since more than half of the student population at this school came from the upper class but whatever. It was times like these that Sylvain was happy his family didn’t have as much to their name, most of his family’s wealth coming out of the fact his family worked directly under Dimitri’s. And the way the family was planning it, Sylvain would end up working under Dimtiri along with Felix. Only Ingrid would get away from that fate although she was betrothed to Glenn so her hands were tied as well.

“Just trying to figure out how to ask a question to someone.” He offered up his sushi and Dimitri nodded in thanks and took one.

“You are having trouble asking a question?” Dimitri looked at him in disbelief.

“It’s Fluffyteddybear48.”

Dmitri blinked, his brow furrowed and then he nodded in understanding. “Ah yes, that writer you follow. I thought you two were pretty open with each other.”

“We are but this is…different.” Sylvain frowned as he tried to think of how he could explain this to Dimitri. He was the least technologically inclined out of the childhood quartet. “I’m asking them if they go to Garreg Mach too. It’s a silent rule that we don’t really go into detail about our personal lives but just based on context clues, I think they go here too.”

“I still don’t understand why you are having trouble. Just write it like you would normally. Oh, perhaps like an email?”

Sylvain didn’t even bother correcting Dimitri. This was nothing like a business email.

“Sir, your meeting with Edelgard is in ten minutes.”

“Yes, of course, thank you Dedue.”

Sylvain waved goodbye to his friend before focusing on his half written message. Alright, back to the drawing board for this.

***

Bernadetta walked out of her Medieval and Early Modern Literature class, her head swimming slightly. Her professor was passionate about her work but at the same time she wasn’t the best at teaching it. She pulled out her phone as she headed for her room to drop off her bookbag and grab her bow for archery practice.

A private message from FTBbiggestfan. She wondered what that was about. They had commented on the latest chapter, telling her to take her time even though they were super worried about Chrom. This chapter wasn’t as long as the previous one, the main focus of it was Robin scrambling to figure out what was wrong with Chrom. Bernadetta was pulling a few ideas from Sleeping Beauty for this part of the story.

Opening the message, she stopped and had to stare at it.

_“This might be super forward of me and I’m sorry if it makes you uncomfortable and you don’t have to answer me if you don’t want to, but by any chance do you go to Garreg Mach Academy? I’m a student at the college and I noticed whenever you talk about midterms and finals, it always lines up with the college’s. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to but I just wanted to throw it out there! It would be super cool if we went to the same school and possibly passed by each other!”_

No way. What were the odds of something like this? She looked up at the students passing her by. Any one of them could be FTBbiggestfan. Oh Seiros, what was she supposed to do, how was she supposed to answer this!? Her thoughts spun around and around as reached the locker room, changed for practice and headed down to the field.

She barely was able to register Shamir talking to her, her brain still whirling over the message over and over. What was she supposed to about this!? She was practicing hitting the targets when she heard Claude speak up from the spot next to her.

“Hey Bernie?”

Bernadetta startled and almost dropped an arrow. “Yes?”

“How in the world did you manage to get so good at archery?” Claude absentmindedly flipped an arrow as he regarded her.

“Oh, just practice, lots of practice. My family made sure I practiced since I was a child so…” Bernadetta grimanced as she remembered some of the “practice” sessions when she was a child with her father. He had not been very happy when Bernadetta made mistakes. He would also remind her over and over that the Varley legacy was doomed thanks to her incompetence. When her mother finally stepped in and got Bernadetta an actual archery instructor, the lessons had gone much, much better.

Wait a moment. Claude was very friendly and sociable and was a very dependable member of the club. She had also noticed how he tried to encourage the club members during competitions and he was very good at it. Perhaps he could give her some advice?

“Hey Claude, can I ask you something?”

“You want to ask _me_ something?” He looked at her in disbelief.

Bernadetta let out a small squeal. “It’s nothing, nothing at all!” She mentally cursed herself. So stupid! Always so stupid.

“Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have put it like that, it was a bit harsh I will admit. Seriously, what’s up though?”

“Well uh, oh, this is going to sound so weird.” Since she was holding an arrow, she fired it just to do something with her hands and give her a bit more courage to ask what she wanted to ask him.

“I’ve heard some weird things, trust me.” He slung his bow over a shoulder.

“Well, uh so I wrote a thing and posted it online right? And this one reader of mine somehow managed to figure out from my context clues that I go here to Garreg Mach.”

Claude frowned. “Are you worried they’re stalking you or something?”

“Nothing like that!” She waved her free hand wildly. “No, they said they go to Garreg Mach too and was just wondering about it. I didn’t confirm either way yet though, since I was trying to figure out how to.”

“Would you want to meet them though?”

“Well uh, I’m not sure.” She ran her fingers along the bowstring. “I mean, they really like my work and always leave compliments but I’m way different in person that online so… I thought maybe you could give some advice Claude? You seem like the type who’s the same off and online.”

“I guess. The advice I would give is if you’re comfortable doing so? Like meet in a public place and stuff if anything. But if you don’t, then just deny it? I mean, if you’re just talking in private messages, it would be easy to lie right?”

“True…” Bernadetta frowned and looked at the target in front of her. That was right, wasn’t it? It would be easy for her to lie but at the same time this was FTBbiggestfan. They had been talking for about two years at this point. It would be cool to finally get a name to a face, like she was a real author! However Claude was right. Safety was important, especially since they went to the same school.

She gave Claude a small grateful smile. “Thanks Claude, I’ll think about it.”

“Happy to help.”

“And uh, if you want some advice, adjust your posture a little, it will help with pulling the bowstring faster.” She demonstrated what she meant.

Claude watched her closely and adjusted his own stance as best he could and fired the arrow. This time it hit closer to the bullseye. He couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks a lot Bernadetta! I hope everything goes well with this internet person.”

Bernadetta smiled back. She hoped so too.


	4. Chapter 4

Where in the world were his pants?

Sylvain squinted as he looked around for the missing pants. It was still early, the light peeking in through the blinds not strong enough to give him a good view of the floor. Ugh, his phone was in his pants too so he couldn’t even use that to help him out.

He heard stirring behind him. “Do you have to go already?” asked a girl, her voice raspy with sleep.

Sylvain glanced back at her, her name eluding him. “I have class.”

“I never expected you to actually care about going to class.” She giggled.

“Well, you have to have good grades or you’ll fail out of the academy.” Sylvain shrugged. “Don’t want to waste the tuition cost.”

The girl’s laugh was grating on the ears.

Ah, there it was. Sylvain quickly put on his pants and pulled his phone out and used the flashlight app to locate the rest of his clothing and school supplies. From experience, he had brought everything for class today with him so he didn’t need to run back to his room to get it.

“I’ll possibly see you later?” A hopeful edge to her voice.

“Maybe,” replied Sylvain. He rested his hand on the back of his neck. “I’ll text you.” The lie slid easily off his tongue as he left her room. She was way too talkative. After a quick stop in the boys bathroom to make sure his hair was in order, he headed to Professor Hanneman’s class.

The class itself was a bore like always but hey, at least Byleth was cute. When class was over, he followed Felix out. Ingrid was waiting for them outside, dressed in a light coat. Since they were from the northern part of Fodlan, the winters much worse up there than here. Up there, there was a guaranteed blizzard every year. Here, they might get one snowfall and even then the chance of it sticking was slim at best.

“Dimitri said he would try to meet up with us for lunch for a couple of minutes,” said Ingrid.

“The boar is always so busy,” grumbled Felix. 

“Felix, you know, you can sound a little happy that Dimitri has managed to make some time for us. For a club, the student council sure does a lot.” Sylvain pulled his phone out, feeling his text tone go off. A message from the same girl as this morning. He was about to put his phone back when he saw he had gotten an email notification from the fanfiction website.

Fluffyteddybear48!?

He quickly opened it and saw it was a private message. Sylvain’s heart began pounding in his chest. This had to be their response to his last message. After sending it, he was sure he had scared Fluffyteddybear48 off.

_“You go to Garreg Mach? What a surprise, I do as well! Maybe we have passed by each other, that would have been so cool(and so weird!).”_

“Holy crap! They do go here!” Sylvain stopped in his tracks and his friends stopped and looked back at him annoyed.

“Seriously what are you going on about?” asked Ingrid.

Felix sighed. “It’s the author he likes.”

“Guys, this is amazing news!” Why couldn’t they understand how big this was!? He went to the same school as Fluffyteddybar48! He gasped and his eyes widen as he realized something. “They’re breathing the same air as me right now!” He suck in a deep breath.

“I’ve actually never seen you this excited about anything.” Ingrid looked at him in amusement.

“How should I reply….I should try to sound cool about it…hey Ingrid, you’re good at this kind of stuff, what should I say without making it sound like I’m super incredibly excited about it?”

Ingrid peered over to see what Sylvain was typing. “Well don’t have that many exclamation points for starters.”

Sylvain quickly erased them. “So you think I should ask for more details or like talk about the weather or something?”

Felix rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Great, this is all we’re going to hear over lunch.”

Ingrid shrugged. “Well at least he’s excited over something that isn’t a girl?”

***

Berndaetta checked her phone for probably the ninth time that hour. No response yet from FTBbiggestfan. Maybe they were in class and that’s why they weren’t responding. Or maybe her message wasn’t that great? It was probably not. She didn’t want to seem too eager so she kept it as neutral as possible.

She entered the library and winced at the amount of students already scrambling to get midterms done. Way too many people, the library louder than a library had any right to be. The librarians didn’t seem to mind the noise but maybe there was nothing that could be done with the amount of students here.

She went to the main desk and the woman behind the counter smiled. “Your usual quiet room is open and ready for you.”

Bernadetta gave the woman a small smile back and headed for the back of the library. The further she walked from the entrance, the quieter it was until all she could hear was a hushed whisper here and there. The quiet rooms had glass doors leading into the small space with a whiteboard, a semi-large table and a minimum of five chairs. She spotted a few were filled, some with students working alone and others with students working on group projects or tutoring.

Her usual room had one side pressed against a wall and it was smaller than the other rooms. Berndaetta slipped inside and set up her laptop on the table, the charger connected to the outlet. Shoes off, she sat cross legged in the chair as she opened her laptop and pulled up her half completed history paper. Her notebook and books for the paper sat next to the laptop, ready to use at a moment’s notice.

Before starting, she picked up her phone, ready to put it on silent and noticed there was an email alert. FTBbiggestfan!

Gulping, she opened the site and went directly to her DMs.

_“Oh wow, that’s so funny! Small world, haha. I assume you have Professor Hanneman for history. Did you finish your paper yet?”_

Oh thank Seiros, they did not find her response weird. She quickly typed up a response. _“I’m actually working on it now. I’m about halfway done with mine. How are you doing on yours?”_

She put down her phone and looked at her paper. Alright, first off she needed to check her notes for her outline. As she grabbed her notebook, she saw a response from FTBbiggestfan.

_“Good luck! I finished mine a few days ago. I’ll talk to you later then! I don’t want to disturb you.”_

FTBbiggestfan was already done with their paper!? That was ridiculously fast. Was FTBbiggestfan a super good student or something? Or maybe they were smart and didn’t procrastinate. Well, either way, they were right. She needed to talk to them later, for now she had a paper to write.


	5. Chapter 5

Over the next three weeks, Sylvain enjoyed talking with Fluffyteddybear48. They talked about the best places to eat on campus, places they liked to hang out and even discussed some of the weird statues found in the unlikeliest of places. Sylvain even took a few pictures and sent it to them, the weirdest of the weird. Despite the fact they went to the same school, it was like an unspoken rule that they avoided mentioning anything that would identify them. They never mentioned to the other the exact classes they were in or where they lived in campus. And any pictures they sent to the other would always be from the front facing camera. Although, Sylvain was able to extrapolate that Fluffyteddybear48 had to be shorter than him based on the angle of the pictures. It was weird to admit but he went searching for the artwork Fluffyteddtbear48 took pictures of and compared the height of where the pictures were taken to how tall he was.

He was sitting on a bench outside, the nippy cold not bothering him, waiting for Ingrid to be done with her shower/changing after “horse” club(as he liked to put it). She wanted to go shopping for presents to bring back home for Glenn and her family over winter break and wanted Sylvain to go with her to carry the bags. He had loudly complained about it like she was expecting him to before “giving in” and asking when they were going to meet up to do this.

He didn’t really mind this much as he used the time to buy small gifts, like lipstick and tiny bottles of perfumes to give to the girls he _really_ liked spending time with. Yes, he would need to hear Ingrid competing about how shallow he was for treating girls like this but honestly, those girls came to him knowing he was like this. He was just obliging them and giving them what they wanted. That’s all.

He opened the fanfiction site and opened the DMs with Fluffyteddybear48. They had been talking about the ball at the end of the month. Garreg Mach’s annual ball, a glorified party for the students and faculty. He had asked if they were ready and Fluffyteddybear48 mentioned they had gotten their outfit for it already but was nervous to go since they did not like large crowds. Apparently last year they had only been able to stay for half an hour before leaving.

He debated on asking the question. Would it be super forward? Confirming that Fluffyteddybear48 went to the same school was one thing. Asking this would totally move their online relationship in another direction. However the ball would be the best place to meet them. Surrounded by students and professors in a neutral environment. It made sense that this was the direction their relationship should go.

However would Fluffyteddybear48 want to do something like that? Well, it couldn’t hurt to try right?

But what if they said no? What if they stopped responding to Sylvain’s messages because that crossed an invisible line and they were grossed out because he said something like that? What in the world was he going to do if that happened!?

“Gotcha!” Ingrid seemed to come out of nowhere, her hands clasping onto Sylvain’s shoulders. He jumped, his thumb hitting the button to submit the message.

Curses spewed out of his mouth as he stared down at his phone in horror. He didn’t want to send that!

“Sylvain!”

“I didn’t want to send that Ingrid! Seiros, what if Fluffyteddybear48 hates me now!? What if they don’t talk to me ever again!? This is your fault Ingrid!”

Ingrid frowned and gave Sylvain a no-nonsense look. “What in the world are you even talking about? I didn’t make you send it.”

“You startled me and made me push the send button,” he protested. However, he knew that despite all his complaining it was clear that Ingrid didn’t understand the gravity of the situation. “It was a message to Fluffyteddybear48. I was debating on asking them if we could meet at the ball at the end of the month.

Ingrid winced.

“Oh man, if you think it was too much to ask then it has to be too much.” Sylvain ran his fingers through his hair and tried to not panic.

“Well maybe they will be open to the idea?” she said weakly.

“Or they’ll hate me,” mumbled Sylvain.

“I don’t think they’ll hate you from just that one comment.”

“Well they might think I’m creepy for wanting to meet with them. What’s with that look Ingrid?”

“Oh, nothing, it’s just…shocking to see you like this. Usually you’re much more put together, even when you mess up with your relationship to those girls you keep seeing.”

Sylvain caught the hidden barb in the words. Ingrid had never approved of Sylvain’s antics with women. “This is Fluffyteddybear48. It’s _different_ with them.”

Ingrid sighed. “Fine, fine, it’s different. But I still think this won’t scare Fluffy-whatever away. Have some faith in the relationship you’ve built up over the past few years.”

“Right…yeah, you’re right about that Ingrid.” And besides, all Fluffyteddybear48 had to do was say no and then Sylvain wouldn’t bring it up again. At least, that’s what he hoped would happen.

***

Bernadetta finished changing for archery practice and noticed she had gotten a notification. A message from FTBbiggestfan! She smiled, wondering what they would be sending her today. The past few days they had been running around campus sending her pictures of the weirdest statues they could find on campus. Bernadetta had not known of the weird fish sculpture behind the math building but it was really funny with the bright colors and bug eyes.

_“Weird question but I thought I might as well ask. Want to meet up in person at the Garreg Mach Ball at the end of the month?”_

Bernadetta froze and stared at her phone. Meet up? Actually meet up with FTBbiggestfan? In person!? What, why how!? Questions flooded through her mind. Why did they want to meet up? Ack? Did they know who she was? Or maybe they just wanted to be friends in person? Well it made sense since they had been talking to each other for so long but why did they want to meet at the ball?

Thankfully she couldn’t dwell on her thoughts too much as archery practice began for the day. Her aim wasn’t as true as it usually was and Shamir had quickly taken notice. Bernadetta managed to stammer out an excuse of not getting enough sleep last night. Shamir thankfully seemed to buy the excuse as she went to correct a few of the other students on their form.

Once practice was finished, Shamir pulled the struggling students to the side for an extra lesson. Including Ashe much to Bernadetta’s dismay. She wanted to bring it up with him to ask what to do about this ridiculous situation.

As she debated on what to do, she spotted Claude nearby, packing up his bow for the night. He had given her such good advice before, maybe he could help her out with this? She approached him and waited for him to notice her, not wanting to bother him.

“What’s up Bernie?” Claude looked at her in confusion.

“Oh, uh, just wanted to uh, tell you something if you aren’t too busy.”

“Well practice just ended so I would say I’m pretty free for the most part.” He put his supplies over a shoulder and the duo began walking back to the locker room. “What’s up?”

“So uh, remember the advice I asked you about a few weeks ago?”

Claude cursed and she jumped back in surprise. “Sorry Bernie, it’s not you, I just remembered I was supposed to tell you a while ago. I think I figured out who your fan is.”

“Really?” she squeaked. “Well that’s great. We’re planning on meeting in person. Most likely at the ball at the end of the month.”

Claude frowned and Bernadetta could feel her stomach sink. “You think it’s a horrible idea?” she asked.

“Well, not horrible per say.” Claude scratched the back of his head, seemingly deep in thought. “So, the person I think it is, he’s in my history class. He mentioned a few times about reading stuff from Fluffyteddybear…something or other. There were numbers there.”

Bernadetta’s eyes widen. “That’s my username. Who is it?”

“Do you know who Sylvain is? Uh, I think his last name is Gauiter. Red hair, pretty tall.”

She thought for a moment but could not place a name to a face. “What kind of person are they?”

“Uh, well, just be careful Bernadetta, just be on your guard a bit. He’s a bit of a player. I doubt he would do anything to you but just be aware of it alright?”

“A player?” Her eyes widen.

“But like I said, he can be nice sometimes too, he probably won’t try to hit on you or anything since he really enjoys your stories.”

“Yeah, maybe…” She frowned and looked down at her bow.

“Maybe I said too much,” said Claude with a wince.

“No, it’s okay. I understand you’re looking out for me Claude.” They reached the locker room and she gave him a nod. “Thanks for the information. It is very helpful for me to know that.” She could see Claude was thinking of saying more, but she quickly excused herself and after changing, headed back to her room at a fast pace.

While dinner was heating up in the microwave, she opened her laptop and went on social media. It took a few tries and different spellings but she was able to locate one Sylvain Gautier that went to Garreg Mach Academy.

Based on his profile picture alone, it was obvious he was the playboy type. Mirror selfie, Shirt off, expression a wry grin, one of his fingers looped through the belt of his pants, pulling it down slightly.

This was the guy that was reading her fanfiction and interacting with her the past few years!?

Somehow she had always pictured them similar to her, a quiet, soft-spoken person that didn’t interact much. Not…this.

Now filled with morbid curiosity, she began looking through his feed. Lots and lots of pictures with girls. If there weren’t any girls in the pictures, he took selfies that were obviously meant to show off his body. This was the guy that squealed about ships with her and commented how much he loved the slow burn between Robin and Chrom and wanted them to get together and be happy so bad? This was the person that sent her cute pictures of the statues around campus with funny captions!? It was like night and day, the person she had been talking to online and the person she was seeing in front of her.

Wait a moment.

Bernadetta was a girl.

What would happen if he met her in person? Based on how handsy he was on the girls in the pictures, would he try something with her? Had he figured out she was a girl and that’s why he asked her if she wanted to meet up with him at the ball? Was he trying to get with her!?

“Calm down Bernie, stop catastrophizing” she told herself. There was a high chance that he didn’t know she was a girl. She was always careful in her pictures and made no indication of gender online. Maybe he was just suggesting it, not thinking it could be taken that way. Heck, maybe he thought she was a boy. There were so many possibilities that it could be that thinking of the what-ifs was overwhelming.

How was she going to respond to this?

The microwave went off, signaling her dinner was ready. She dropped her phone on her meal and retrieved the meal, pasta with vegetables. She sat at her desk and ate as she checked her planner. There were still some assignments she needed to get done and she really did want to get the next chapter of _A Long Lasting Dream_ started.

She grimaced at her phone and then looked at all she needed to do. Maybe for now it would be best to focus on those things and respond to Sylvain’s message to her tomorrow.

***

Sylvain’s nerves were on edge. It had been over twelve hours and Fluffyteddybear48 had not responded to the message. Crap, crap, crap, everything was ruined wasn’t it? He could never comment on Fluffyteddybear48’s fics again and all he could do was lurk on their stories from afar. No wait, maybe he no longer deserved that. All because of Ingrid decided to scare him and make him send that message.

“I swear, if you check your phone again, I’m taking it,” growled Felix.

“Felix, I told you what Ingrid did, Fluffyteddybear48 probably hates me now.”

Felix let out a long drawn out sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Sylvain could tell right away that Felix was regretting coming to class early and sitting next to Sylvain. Sylvain had been so on edge that he ended up cancelling spending the night with a girl and was miserable and worried in his room.

He almost jumped out of his seat as a notification came in. He had never opened a message so fast, his hands shaking to hold his phone straight so he could read it.

_“I will admit your message surprised me, sorry it took me so long to respond, I had to think over what I was going to say. It threw me for such a loop that I asked a friend of mine for advice and well, they told me something that makes me…less inclined to meet you in person._

_Oh, I’m not good at messages like this but my friend had overheard you talking about a Fluffyteddybear48 multiple times and well, they managed to put two and two together. So uh, your name is Sylvain right? I’m not trying to be creepy about it, that’s what my friend told me!_

_And well, my friend also told me a bit of your personality…like how you’re a player and I went on your profile…_

_Sorry about that but I’m just…not comfortable with the idea of meeting in person, I’m super sorry about that. :(“_

Sylvain stared at his phone and read the message again. And again. And again. “Damn, how did they find out!?” he managed to get out.

Felix rolled his eyes, the boredom leaking from every pore. “What now?”

“Fluffyteddybear48 found out I was and I quote ‘a player’ so they’re worried about meeting me at the ball.” Sylvain looked at Felix in pure distress.

“Wow, I’m quite impressed with them for figuring out who you were. I wonder how that happened.”

Ugh, Felix didn’t sound worried at all by this revelation.

“It’s horrible!” insisted Sylvain. “I mean, I am totally not going to hit on Fluffybear48. It’s Fluffyteddybear48, it wouldn’t be right!” Girls were just…girls and Fluffyteddybar48 was above them in every way. An angel sent from above to write the most beautiful words and create the most wonderful stories. Flirting or making a move on them was the last thing on is mind.

“Please stop saying that name over and over again. It’s not helping your case at all.” Felix shook his head.

Wait, hang on, why would Fluffyteddybear48 be worried about that? Unless, was Fluffyteddybear48 a girl? Holy crap, if Fluffyteddybear48 was a girl and she saw his profile… He winced, as he thought of the pictures he had on there and his profile picture. Ingrid and Annette and even Mercedes(since she was best friends with Annette), knew that Sylvain was not like the person he presented on social media. But Fluffyteddybear48 didn’t know him and that was what she found when she looked him up, no wonder she would be worried meeting him in person! But how in the world could he tell her he wasn’t like that to girls he actually cared about!?

Sylvain turned to Felix. “You gotta help me come up with things to say to them!”

Felix looked like Sylvain had insulted his grandmother. “Wait, why do I have to?”

“You’re right, you’re not going to be able to give me anything useful. Maybe Ingrid can help. Oh! Maybe Dimtiri. We should have an emergency meeting after class.” Sylvain’s fingers flew across his phone as he typed a message in the group chat for them to meet during lunch and it was vital everyone was there.

“Are you seriously calling one over something like this?” Felix rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Duh.” Sylvain finished the message and sent it out.

Felix glanced at his phone and rolled his eyes. “Did you have to write ‘emergency’ in all caps?”

“It’s an emergency! The biggest emergency ever.”

Felix rolled his eyes and quickly typed a response in the chat just as Professor Hanneman walked into the classroom. Curiously Byleth was not with him but Sylvain had not paid attention to the reason given as he read Felix’s message.

“Really, did you have to put it as a problem with my bear-friend?” he hissed under his breath.

“I didn’t want them to be worried and think something serious had actually happened.”

“But this is serious!”

Sadly Felix was unable to respond as Professor Hanneman began the lesson for the day.

***

As soon as class was done, Sylvain led the way to the student center, taking the initiative and bought a large sushi boat for the quartet to share and took it to the lounge area where they would be able to talk without having to worry about other students paying them much mind.

“So what’s happening with this bear-friend?” asked Ingrid. Her hand hovered over the sushi boat for a couple seconds before she decided on a tuna roll.

“Well, this is all your fault Ingrid. If you didn’t surprise me and made me send that message, we wouldn’t be in this situation right now!” snapped Sylvain.

Ingrid glared at him. “What in the world are you talking about?”

“Perhaps you can back up a little and explain the situation from the beginning?” asked Dimitri. “Dedue, you can come over and have some as well, no need to sit so far.”

Dedue glanced at Sylvain who just nodded in response and gestured to the boat. “Take whatever you want.”

Ingrid scooted over so Dedue could pull up a chair and join their little circle.

“Thank you,” said Dedue.

“What’s going on is that Sylvain here sent a message to that teddybear author he likes reading about meting them in person at the ball at the end of the month and apparently they managed to find out who Sylvain was and looked on his social media,” explained Felix.

Nods of understanding passed through the group.

“Well you can’t blame them for not wanting to have anything to do with you after seeing that,” said Ingrid.

“Your choice of what you put online is….questionable at best,” said Dimitri.

“And considering what you do in your spare time…”put in Felix.

“Alright, alright I get it!” grumbled Sylvain. He looked at Dedue. “You want to add anything to the bully Sylvain circle?”

Dedue shook his head. “I think everything has already been said. But if I might ask, why would this teddybear person not want to meet you based on your profile and how you are in real life?”

Sylvain rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, I’m thinking its because Fluffyteddybear48 is a girl, and worried I’ll hit on her.”

“That is a logical deduction,” commented Dimitri.

“Well I think Fluffy is smart then,” said Felix. “Best for her to stay away from you.”

“I’m not going to hit on her! I would never hit on her! She’s Fluffyteddybear48! Anyway, I wanted to have this meeting to figure out how to respond to the message!” He pulled up the message on his phone and put it in the middle of the table next to the sushi boat so everyone could read it. “I was thinking about it but I wasn’t going to suggest meeting at the ball.”

Ingrid, thankfully, had enough shame to wince. “Yes, that is a bit…” She sighed. “Sorry about that Sylvain.”

“Well, she was very elegant about her words. I wonder which friend of hers was able to tell her that you were who she was talking to,” said Dimitri.

“Does that really matter right now?” asked Felix. “Sylvain talks about her all the time, of course someone probably overheard him. I think what we need to be focusing on right now is coming up with a response that doesn’t make Sylvain sound more like an asshole than he already is.”

Dimitri checked the time on his gold wristwatch. “Well, I can probably spare another fifteen minutes, let’s get this message figured out.”

Ingrid pulled out a sheet of paper from her bag. “Time to start drafting.”

***

Was Bernadetta too harsh in her DM? Maybe. It had almost been a couple hours and Sylvain had not answered her message. Usually he would respond by now. Or maybe he was not talking to her anymore because she realized what kind of person he was. Well good riddance then!

Although at the same time she felt sad about that. Who knew a friendship built up over two years would cumulated in something like this? Or maybe she shouldn’t be surprised. Her mother had warned Bernadetta that there would be boys like that at the academy. She just didn’t expect it to come from FTBbiggestfan of all places.

She sighed and looked around the student center and took a bite of her sandwich. It was a little bit after the usual lunch rush so she didn’t feel overwhelmed by the amount of students having their meal. It was weird but she felt _bad_ about writing what she did to Sylvain but at the same time what was she supposed to do? There was no way meeting someone like that would go over well.

She finished her meal and tossed out her trash. There was still some time before her afternoon writing class. She could get started on putting together stuff for her finals or she could get to work on the next _A Long Lasting Dream_ chapter. Yeah, that would be more fun!

She had not brought her laptop with her so she headed for the exit of the student center and froze as she saw a group of students walking out of another hallway that connected to the exit. One was Ingrid and she was obviously in the middle of the story. Next to her was a blond boy, Dimitri Bernadetta recognized, the vice president of the student council. The third one that she recognized was not one she had seen in person, just in those pictures online.

Sylvain.

He was really tall in person, towering above his friends. He rolled his eyes and made a comment. Ingrid looked at him annoyed and hit him in the arm. The blue-haired boy next to Sylvain let out a long sigh and shook his head. He then paused and looked in Bernadetta’s direction, as if sensing her stare.

Bernadetta dropped her eyes and took out her phone, pretending that she got a message so they wouldn’t think she was staring. Oh! She had gotten a message, from FTBbiggestfan.

Dreading it, she opened the message while at the same time keeping an eye on what Sylvain and his group were doing.

_“Your friend must be a detective! But yes, my name is Sylvain and well, I’m sorry you had to discover my online presence like that. But believe me, I would never dream of thinking of you that way! I was just asking from a friendship point and nothing more. Although I can totally get why you’re worried about it. I do act differently in real life than online but trust me, both sides are still me. I’m like this with my friends, talkative like this I mean. But anyway, we can keep talking online, that’s fine! I wouldn’t want the friendship(does this count as friendship? I think so!) to end because of something like this, although I totally get if you want to break it off. I’ll understand and there won’t be any hard feelings on my end._

_But anyway, in terms of the ball, if you feel comfortable enough, you can approach me since you know who I am. If not, then that’s fine. I don’t mind just talking to you online like this and talking more about your stories and stuff. But yeah, like I said before if you want to not talk to me again, totally understand.”_

Bernadetta looked up and saw Sylvain and his little group of friends were hanging around near the sliding doors. Sure she could go around but it looked like they were going their sperate ways soon as Dimtri and the white-haired boy split off and went back into the student center.

While she was waiting, she decided to reply to Sylvain’s message.

_“Oh, it’s okay. It’s just, that kind of stuff makes me a bit nervous. But I will admit it was surprising since you seemed much different from our conversations. I don’t mind continuing to have conversations online like this though._

_“As for the ball, I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks for giving me the option! And uh, I’m planning on working on the next chapter of A Long Lasting Dream today so I should have the next chapter up soon!”_

She sighed and sent the message and looked up, hoping they would have moved by now.

Ingrid said something before leaving and Sylvain was left alone with the blue-haired one. Sylvain reached into his pocket and took out his phone. His expression brightened and he hit the blue-haired boy in the arm and gestured wildly to his phone.

No way. He couldn’t be that excited by her message right? No way. Well, with Ingrid gone, the other two didn’t know her. Bernadetta put her phone away and put down her head and walked past them.

As she walked by, she heard Sylvain loudly exclaim. “It’s from Fluffyteddybear48 Felix! She doesn’t hate me after all!”

It took all of her willpower to not squeal in surprise as she walked past. Sylvain had sounded more like she expected him to, not like the person she had seen online. Maybe he was telling the truth about him being both persons. And if he was telling the truth about that, then was it actually safe for them to meet in person after all?


	6. Chapter 6

Of course the semester seemed to be coming to an end at a breakneck speed. With finals on the horizon, Bernadetta had to put her story back on hiatus to keep up all the work that was piling up on her. She did keep up with messaging Sylvain though and the two continued to share messages regularly over the next couple of weeks.

Mostly to complain about all the work they had to get done but Sylvain regularly sent random pictures of statues and other weird things he saw on campus, like the campus cat. A mangy old thing that many on campus were convinced was a ghost while the other half treated it like an unofficial mascot. Sylvain also sent her selfies with him making funny expressions or pretending to be memes. It was such a contrast to how he looked in his profile that Bernadetta was starting to be convinced they had to be different people.

However as she turned in her last paper and left her final class of the semester, she realized what was next was the ball at the end of the week. She grimanced at the thought of it. She had to go, as a Varley it was important for her to show her face, even for a little while and play nice but she really did not like being in a loud room for long periods of time.

Although there was still the matter of Sylvain…

Talking with him over the past few weeks, despite this profile(which had a few more additions of shirtless pics and him with girls), otherwise he seemed very genuine and kind. Also what kind of guy would go out of his way to take silly selfies like that and send it to her who also wanted to maintain that _other_ kind of presence online? Especially since they went to the same school.

Maybe they could…

What was she thinking?

“Bernie? You okay?” Ashe looked over at her in concern. It was the end of the year cleanup for club facilities. Shamir was very particular and wanted the students cleaning it. Something about how it would give them a better appreciation of the sport and all that went into it. Thankfully most of the work was completed, and many of the students had left. Ashe and Bernadetta had taken over cleaning out the trophy shelf. There were a lot of trophies in it but Bernadetta would take this over having to clean the field. At least with the trophies, she could just sit in place.

“I was just thinking of the ball.”

“Oh yeah, that’s coming up.” Ashe sighed. “I’m always so nervous at these things.”

“Really?”

Ashe nodded. “Well, I’m going as a representative of my adoptive father.”

Ah, Bernadetta remembered Ashe mentioning him and his siblings were adopted into the Gaspard family. “I know that feeling,” she replied with a small smile.

“Please tell me it gets easier the more you do it,” Ashe sighed.

“I’m not a fan of these big events. I’m probably only going to be there for a little bit of the time. Say hi and then go.”

“That sounds nice,” Ashe sighed. “Maybe I’ll do that too. My adopted father also gave me a few people to talk to. Just to introduce myself and whatnot. Does your dad make you do that?”

Bernadetta flinched at the mention of her dad. The last time they had spoken was over the summer when she was home. The conversation was brief, just him asking her what day she would be going back to the academy. “No, he doesn’t.” After a moment of awkward silence she added quickly, “But I might have to meet someone myself.”

“Meet someone?”

“Uh, his name is Sylvain. Sylvain Gautier.”

“Sylvain?” Ashe frowned.

Bernadetta’s eyes widen. “You know him?”

“I’ve heard of him. My adoptive father works with his family so I’ve heard things here and there. He’s…Bernadetta you better be really careful around him. He as a certain reputation with girls.”

“Oh I know,” she said quickly. “It’s nothing related to _that_. And he’s not going to be like that with me…at least I think so.”

“What makes you so sure he won’t? Wait, it sounds like you’ve talked to him before?”

“Just online. It’s a long story.”

“What kind of story?” Ashe began picking up all the used rags.

Bernadetta hesitated for a moment before deciding to go into it. Ashe had been nothing but kind to her the past year, always inviting her to do things even though he probably realized by now Bernadetta was not into it. He had also told her stories of his family, his siblings while she rarely gave him anything in return. Maybe it was time to put a little trust in him like he did her?

The two had finished putting away all the supplies and were heading to the student center for dinner when Bernadetta finished up the story. “So, I’m debating about actually meeting him in person at the ball, just to say hi?”

“That’s…wow Bernie.” Ashe shook his head. “I wouldn’t expect that from Sylvain to be honest.”

“I didn’t expect it either to be honest,” admitted Bernadetta. “But he’s been super nice and kind to me and super accommodating and I was thinking…maybe…”

“Well I think you should go for it Bernie.” Ashe nodded. “It’ll be like _Loog and the Witch’s Brew_! You know, when he had to approach the witch and finds out she was the one that was guiding him the whole time and the guy that wanted her dead was the real villain!”

“I hope I don’t have to fight anyone,” sighed Bernadetta. Although that blue-haired friend of his looked very scary.

“That was a figure of speech. I think everything will be fine Bernie! I mean do you want me to be there when you do it?”

“That will be nice but I think this is something I want to do on my own.” If she was going to meet a fan of her own work, it was going to be through her own merit!

“Gotcha. Well no matter what, I’ll be in your corner.” He frowned. “And if he tries something…I’ll do something! Not sure yet, but I’ll do something!”

Bernadetta had to giggle at the thought of Ashe trying to fight tall Sylvain. It was a nice thought though, she didn’t know many people that would go out of their way for her like that.

“You want to get dinner together Bernie? I think they’re having special lobster from the coast and I have way too much money on my meal plan. We can find somewhere else to sit if it’s too loud for you.”

Bernadetta probably shouldn’t have been surprised at this point that Ashe had noticed her dislike of crowds. “That would be great, thanks.”

***

Sylvain was giddy as he followed his friends into the large hall. The chandeliers shone overhead, the bright decorations capturing the essence of the time long ago. Or, at least that’s how the Garreg Mach Ball was advertised to incoming students. Students and professors mingled freely, everyone dressed up in their finery. A food table took up almost one wall and a few students were already helping themselves to the many, many treats.

“It’s so pretty,” gasped Annette.

“Uh huh,” agreed Felix, his attention more on Annette than the decorations around them.

Sylvain looked to his other side where Ingrid stood by herself. She had invited Glenn but he was busy with a business deal so he wasn’t able to come. Being the awesome friend he was, Sylvain had offered to be her “date” for the night. She had agreed, just probably to save face. Or it could have been Sylvain begging for her to accept because then he had a valid excuse to not take one of the girls he had slept with. So many of them had showered him with hints and a few had asked him outright but he turned them all down. This was a night of celebration, Sylvain wanted to act more like himself than have to spend time worrying about the girl he was with.

Well, there was one girl he was dying to meet tonight.

“I’m off to spend time at the cake tables.”

“Remember to be nice to Fluffy,” said Ingrid.

Sylvain let out a long dramatic gasp. “I didn’t think you cared so much.”

“We just don’t want to hear you crying about it later about her rejecting you or something,” put in Felix.

“Good luck Sylvain, I’m sure it will go well. Oh! You want me to sing one of my songs to give you some luck?”

“No, that’s okay Annette,” Sylvain said quickly. He had caught Felix singing a song under his breath about “creepy crawlies” once. That was weird. He gestured to the dance floor. “Why don’t you and Felix dance for a bit?”

“Oh I just recently learned the waltz! This’ll be fun!” She grabbed Felix’s arm and began tugging him towards the dance floor.

“I don’t dance,” he grumbled but he didn’t resist her dragging him along.

“Wow, she has him wrapped around his thumb, never thought I would see the day,” commented Ingrid with a shake of her head. She shooed Sylvain with a hand. “Go on, go see Fluffy, I’ll be fine. I think I see Dimitri over there, let me give him some backup, that crowd is getting super large.”

Sylvain gave her a dramatic salute before heading over to the cake section of the table. Two days ago he couldn’t believe the message he received from Fluffyteddybear48. She was willing to meet with Sylvain at the ball! He didn’t know what had changed but he was going to take it! Remembering that Fluffyteddybear48 had mentioned a love for sweets, he replied back he would stand near the dessert/cake section of the food tables for her for the first half an hour of the night since she had also mentioned she did not stay for very long. She had responded back she didn’t want to trouble him but he told her it was no trouble at all.

Finding the table, he stood next to it and adjusted the cuff links of his expensive suit jacket. Oh man, this was more nerve-wracking than going on a date with a girl…even if it was kind of like he was meeting a girl. But Fluffyteddybear48 was not just any girl! He picked up one of the small cakes and took a bite. Oh, lemon flavored.

***

It was way too noisy.

Bernadetta had only been here for five minutes and she already wanted to leave.

“There’s Dimitri, I’m supposed to talk to him a little bit,” spoke up Ashe.

Bernadetta smiled. “Go ahead Ashe. I’ll just be heading to the cake table. You know…”

Ashe nodded, his eyes bright. “It’s going to be fine Bernie, I just know it!” He saluted as Loog did in the books and Bernadetta responded with the same salute.

While Ashe went to speak with Dimitri, Bernadetta navigated through the crowd and made her way over to the cake table.

Sylvain was easy to spot, he was incredibly tall after all. The suit he wore was black and slimming on him, obviously designer and well fitted, his hair slicked back. He was talking to a girl, leaning into her as she spoke with a flirtatious grin on.

“And that’s who you have to talk to Bernie?” Bernadetta gulped and tried to remember all of the nice things he had said about her and the funny selfies. Despite him acting like that, he was also the boy in the selfies…right?

“If Loog could face an entire army with a stick then you can do this,” she murmured. Of course Loog’s stick ended up turning into a sword but it was the thought that counted right? Taking a deep breath, she began walking towards him.

***

Ugh, why didn’t he think of meeting someplace less crowded and not in the middle of the ballroom? Girls came up to him left and right, some wanting to flirt with him, others asking to dance and some were even wondering if he would come back to their rooms later. Thankfully he was going home in two days so he had a limited amount of time to spend with these girls so a few would sadly have to go without his presence.

“Uh…hello.”

Sylvain let out a long sigh and turned to the soft, gentle voice, his charm back on. This girl was short, her purple hair accented by a barrette, her dress modest. He didn’t remember sleeping with this one, she looked too skittish but maybe it was a one time thing. Sometimes the quiet ones were the most surprising in bed.

“Why hello there,” he purred. “Unfortunately I’m booked out for the next two nights, but perhaps we can meet up when spring semester starts?”

Her eyes widen. “Wait…what…”

He stepped closer to her. “Or were you looking for a dance? Or perhaps…” He leaned in close to her face.

She stumbled backwards, her eyes wide. “S…sorry. Thought you were someone else.”

He shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck as the girl turned and fled. Odd. He looked around the ballroom but no one seemed to be paying attention to what happened. Guess that girl wasn’t dared to talk to him by one of her friends. Oh, maybe she had a crush on him? That happened a lot. Best to break her heart now.

He took another cake from the table. Where in the world was Fluffyteddybear48?

***

Stupid, stupid, stupid. Bernadetta was so stupid. She had managed to keep the tears from overflowing when he was talking to her but now they were free-flowing down her face. Why did she expect this would go any different in person? She should have expected this, of course he would be like that because she was a girl.

She stepped out of the ballroom and relished in the cool night air.


	7. Chapter 7

“No luck?” Ingrid walked over and reached behind Sylvain for one of the little cakes.

Sylvain sighed. “Nope. I think Fluffyteddybear48 chickened out or got overwhelmed. I wouldn’t blame her, there is a lot of people here.”

Ingrid patted his arm. “Well it’s almost been half an hour right? You want to give up now? You haven’t moved from this spot.”

“I’ll give her a couple more minutes.” He grinned at her. “And then can I get a dance from you? For Glenn of course.”

Ingrid rolled her eyes. “I’m surprised you don’t have girls lining up to dance for you.”

He shrugged. “Well a few I scared away since I did tell them I was waiting for someone.”

“I really hope they didn’t think you were waiting for me.”

Sylvain shuddered at the thought. “I hope not.” As he looked out into the crowds, he spotted Claude run past with a frantic look on his face. Odd. He wondered if something had happened between him and Byleth. Seeing them dance earlier, even from here, Sylvain got the vibes there was something more going on there than TA and student. Perhaps that was a scandal waiting to happen?

“Excuse me, have you see Bernie?”

Sylvain snapped to the present to see Ingrid talking to a boy with white hair and freckles across the nose.

“Sorry Ashe I haven’t. I didn’t even know she was here.”

“Odd, I can’t find her anywhere…”

“She might have left? She doesn’t like crowds right?”

“Bernie told me she would let me know before she leaves. That is…” He frowned and glared at Sylvain.

“Whoa, hang on, I didn’t do anything!” Sylvain put his hands in surrender but he wasn’t sure why.

“Well have you seen her? She was trying to talk to you. Purple hair? Short? In a dark blue dress?”

“Wait, why does she want to talk to Sylvain of all people?” Ingrid looked at Ashe in disbelief.

It took Sylvain a coupe moments to place the description to the mousey girl that tried talking to him and then freaked out when he flirted back with her.

“Well because he’s a fan of her work.”

Wait what. Sylvain snapped to the conversation. “Whoa hang on, what?”

Ingrid’s eyes widen and her hands went to her mouth. “She’s a writer. I forgot about that.”

“Wait guys, catch me up, you didn’t mean what I think you meant right?”

Ashe frowned at him. “She told me her username is Fluffyteddybear? There’s some numbers but I forgot.”

“Fluffyteddybear48,” whispered Sylvain. He wished he had the power to rewind time in that moment. “Oh Seiros, I flirted with Fluffyteddybear48….”

“You did _what_!?” Ingrid glared at him. “Sylvain, what the heck!?”

Ashe looked pissed as well. “You flirted with her!? She thought you wouldn’t do that!”

“I didn’t know it was her! I thought it was one of the usual girls that want to get with me. Oh Seiros….” He began pacing back and forth in place. No wonder she had bolted as soon as he stared flirting. And he promised her he wouldn’t do that! “Oh Seiros, I’m an asshole.”

“Yeah, we know that already,” snapped Ingrid.

“I have to find her, I need to set this right.” This was worse than the time Miklan threw him down a well. He needed to fix this!

“Well she’s not in the ballroom, I’ve looked everywhere,” said Ashe.

“Then outside maybe. Ingrid, if you see her in here, text me?” Sylvain didn’t wait for a response as he ran out of the ballroom and into the cool air. Where in the world could she have gone? Back to the dorms? He was about to take off in that direction when he remembered there were multiple dorm buildings on campus, a few on the opposite end of the others. The chance of him picking the right one was slim to none.

Think, Sylvain, think! He had already messed up once tonight. Sure he could message her but why would she believe him if he acted like that to her in person? He should have erred on the side of caution when talking to girls but first couple had been some of his regulars and he had slipped back to his usual habit without meaning to.

Wait, habit.

He turned and was practically running. In one of her messages, she had brought up a tree she liked to sit under when it was warm, a picture attached to the message. The tree was in the middle of one of the courtyards, the branches long and bowing and in the summer, the leaves would hide anyone sitting at the base from the outside world.

Thankfully it was winter now.

The campus was brightly lit from street lights, making it easy for him to spot the figure sitting under the large willow tree.

He slowed to a walk and carefully made his way closer.

There she was, the mousey girl that tried to talk to him. Fluffyteddybear48 who tried to talk to him. She had her knees pulled up to her chest, her head buried in them.

“Uh, hi.”

She startled and lifted her head. Sylvain winced, seeing her red puffy eyes.

“Don’t run, I’m not going to bite…or flirt with you.” He stopped a distance away from her and sat down on the grass, making sure to sit in a spot where he could not see up her skirt. He took a deep breath. “I, I didn’t know it was you. I really thought you were just one of the other girls so I treated you as such. I really shouldn’t have, especially since I knew you were worried about that. But I really didn’t mean to flirt with you.” He grimanced and rubbed the back of his neck. “Damn it, I wanted our first meeting in person to be cool and stuff and this didn’t end up like that at all.”

She didn’t say anything.

Sylvain grimanced. “But really, I truly mean it, I don’t flirt with girls I care about. Like Ingrid, we’re childhood friends and I would do anything for her. Annette too since she’s dating Felix and I guess Mercedes since she’s close friends with Annette.” He didn’t know how else he could say it. How else he could explain it to her in a way that made sense. He only flirted and gave himself physically to girls that didn’t know him and didn’t want to know him. All they saw was the Gautier name. Fluffyteddybear48 was nowhere near that.

“Well…how would you have wanted our first meeting to go?” she asked softly.

“How?” He leaned back, bracing himself with his hands and looked up at the sky. The lights were a little bright so he could only make out a few stars. Taking a deep breath, he sat upright and gave her a warm, genuine smile, nothing like the one he showed to _those_ girls. “It’s nice to meet you, I’ve been a fan of your works for so long and I’m glad to finally get to see you in person. I adore your stories so much and they really mean a lot to me and I’m glad I could find them. Oh and my name is Sylvain but I guess you already knew that.”

“Bernadetta.”

“Huh?”

“That’s my name. Bernadetta. But everyone calls me Bernie.”

“Bernie.” He repeated it and grinned. “I’ll remember that Bernie. And I swear any other conversation we have is going to go so much better than this one.”

“That’s…good to know. Uh, I’m working on the next chapter right now.”

“Oh Seiros are you!? Is Chrom going to get better or is he going to sleep forever? Will Robin find the antidote? Wait, don’t tell me I want to read it for myself but gah, I don’t want to wait, I want to know now!”

“Well I was planning on making it have a happy ending.”

Sylvain sighed in relief. “Thank Seiros. After that one-shot you did I don’t think I can handle Robin dying again.” The wind picked up and he noticed Bernie shiver slightly. Without thinking he shrugged out of his suit jacket. “Here, it’s a bit cold out here.”

“But what about you?”

“I’m from the north, a little wind like this is nothing. In fact I will admit I was warm with it on. Go on.” He got up from his spot and held it out to her.

Bernadetta got to her feet and slowly made her way closer to him. She tentatively took the jacket from him and put it on. Immediately the shivers that were starting overtake her subsided. “It’s really warm.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty warm blooded. If you need some heat, I’ll be there. In a friend sort of way,” he added quickly. “Like friendship hugs. Nothing, like, you know, okay, I’m going to shut up now about this.”

She giggled. “You really are like how you are online.”

“I would hope so, I was trying to be as real as possible. Well, you know a different kind of real I guess.” He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his pants. “So, we should probably get back to the ball. I’m sure Ashe is worried about you.”

Bernadetta gasped. “I forgot about Ashe. Oh no Bernie, he’s probably super worried. Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

Sylvain was taken aback by the amount of self-loathing she managed to get out with that one comment. Maybe they were two peas in a pod after all.

As they two walked back, Sylvain slowed his step so he was keeping pace with her. She was super short and tiny. How could this girl make some of the best stories he had ever read. It was kind of amazing to be honest.

“Uh? S…Sylvain?”

“Oh, sorry.” He took a huge step to the side so they were walking more parallel than side by side. Dang it Sylvain, he had to make sure she was comfortable. She didn’t know him well enough to know when he was flirting and when he wasn’t. “Hey look, that’s the statue you sent me…was it last week?” He pointed to a silver abstract sculpture of pounded metal in a helix shape. “

She nodded. “Yeah. I still can’t figure out what it is supposed to be.”

“Probably to represent our hard working spirit or something or something else corny like that.” Sylvain shrugged.

“Probably,” she replied with a laugh.

As they approached the ballroom, he noticed Bernadetta slowing “You want me to tell Ashe that I found you and everything is cool?”

She shook her head. “No, I should go in and tell him myself.” She shrugged out of his jacket and held it out to him.

He took it from her and put it on. He debated on buttoning it up but decided against it. It made him look more dashing this way. He paused, realizing how bad it might look for the two of them to walk in together. Ingrid could handle herself but Bernie? They would eat her up and spit out her bones!

“Uh…Sylvain?”

“You go first. I’ll join you in a couple minutes.”

***

Bernadetta had barely taken ten steps into the ballroom when Ashe was upon her, his green eyes wide with worry. “There you are Bernie!” He dropped his voice to a whisper. “Are you okay? Did he do anything weird?”

“Huh? Uh no. Everything is fine,” she said quickly. “S…Sorry for leaving you behind without saying anything.”

Ashe sighed. “It’s alright, I’m just glad to know you’re safe.”

“Bernie!” Ingrid hurried over and gave her a once over. “Everyone okay? Sylvain didn’t do anything right?” Her expression turned fierce. “I’ll kick his ass.”

"Seriously, you think the worst of me.”

Bernadetta turned to see Sylvain come up behind her, looking as laid back as ever. It was fascinating to her how he seemed to be a completely different person than the one that spoke to her under the tree. He seemed more aloof, seeming to look down on people while at the same time not having a care in the world. How did he somehow manage to turn that charm on and off like that?

Ingrid crossed her arms. “Well I can never be sure with you.” She turned back to Bernadetta. “Tell me straight, was he civil?”

Bernadetta nodded. “It…it was fine.”

“Yeah, you see? Everything was fine!”

“Oh you found her!” A girl with orange hair hurried over, her blue eyes bright and shining. The blue-haired boy Bernadetta had seen with Sylvain before a couple steps behind, with a frown on his face.

“Nice to see you’re in one piece after dealing with him,” commented the boy.

Bernadetta’s head was starting to spin from all this attention. The crowds in the ballroom was already getting on her nerves, having all these people looking and interacting on top of that was throwing her for a major loop.

“Whoa, come on guys, you’re crowding her too much, give her space.” Sylvain stepped in front of Bernadetta and made a shooing gesture. “Away with you!”

Ingrid’s glare was so strong Bernadetta worried Ingrid was going to punch Sylvain in the stomach.

“It’s fine, I’m fine,” Bernadetta spoke up quickly. “I…I’m probably going to head out. I just wanted to check in with you Ashe before I did so you knew I was okay.” She nodded to him.

“If you say so.”

It took a bit of coaxing and a couple more times insisting she was alright before she was able to extract herself from the small group and head back to the safety of her dorm room. She wasn’t too worried about walking on the campus at night, it was a fenced off and everything was brightly lit.

Once she got back to her room, her shoulders slumped as she was finally able to relax. It had taken her about an hour to get ready but it took her less than ten minutes to change into comfortable clothes and get all of the makeup off.

She opened her computer to surf the internet for a bit and saw there was a message waiting for her in the DM section of her fanfiction account. A message from FTBbiggestfan-no Sylvain.

_“Just wanted to check in to make sure you got back to your room fine! It was very nice meeting you in person and I hope we can hang out more in the future! Also here’s my number! It’s probably faster to reach me this way! Of course you don’t have to text me if you don’t want to!”_

Bernadetta picked up her phone and after debating for a moment, she responded that she has gotten back to her room fine and she hoped he was having fun at the ball. Finished with the text, she sent it to the number given in the DM.

Less that five minutes later, she got a response with a picture attached. The picture was of Sylvain with his hand up in a “v” pose. Ingrid was behind him, waving at the camera.

_“Glad to hear that Bernie! And I’ve saved your number in my phone if that’s okay! I’ll see you next semester if that’s okay with you?”_

Oh yeah, after the ball, students would be leaving the campus for winter break. She dropped her phone on her bed before curling up in front of her computer, ready to have a nice, relaxed evening. 


	8. Chapter 8

“Mr. Gautier, if you don’t mind, I need to clean your room and your father wants to speak with you.”

Sylvain sighed in annoyance at the maid standing in his doorway, a vacuum cleaner at the ready. He had barely been home for two weeks and he already didn’t want to have anything to do with this place. Whenever his father caught sight of him, he would breathe down Sylvain’s neck, demanding to know why Sylvain’s grades weren’t where they needed to be or why Sylvain was an embarrassment to the Gautier family. Sylvain wasn’t sure how he could be an embarrassment when Miklan was the bigger one but the last time Sylvain pointed it out, it led to a long winded lecture that Sylvain mentally checked out five minutes in.

He rubbed the back of his neck and grabbed his phone and left his room with his car keys.

“Sir?”

“Tell my father I suddenly remembered an errand I had to do and I’m going out.”

“But Mr. Gautier….”

Sylvain ignored the rest of the maid’s plea as he made his way through the Gautier manor, using the back hallways to avoid meeting with anyone he didn’t want to meet, aka his father or anyone closely associated with him. These hallways had been his friend when he was younger, the cabinets, and lesser used rooms the best places to hide from his brother.

Like always, he managed to get out without too much issue and he hurried down the long driveway to his car, which he usually parked on the street, right outside the manor grounds. Yes, it got dirty from the elements but not having to worry about his father waiting for him in the garage was great.

As he drove away, he wondered where he should go. Usually with things like this, he would call up one of his friends and hang out with them. However, he knew Ingrid was over at Felix’s house today to spend time with Glenn and Felix was most likely around due to it being a family event. Hmmm, what about Dimitri? He was usually busy with something or other, even during the breaks but there have been times in the past where he had been able to get away for an hour or two to just hang out like they did when they were children.

Sylvain pulled into the parking lot of the local coffee shop and while he was getting a drink(a frappe with an expresso shot), he sent a text to Dimitri asking if he was free that afternoon.

While waiting for a response, he took over a table in the back and began looking through his girl contacts folder in case Dimitri didn’t respond. Did any of them live in the area? He could barely remember, most of his contacts now were on Garreg Mach’s campus and he generally found that girls to be a much better time than the ones here as many here his father had gotten in contact with many of them to cut off their ties to Sylvain. His father did way too much work to try to mold Sylvain into the son he’s always wanted but was never going to get.

Sylvain took a sip from his frappe and almost dropped the cup as an email came in. A notification that Fluffyteddybear48 updated her story.

He slammed the cup down and opened the link. The next chapter of _A Long Lasting Dream_! Finally! Holy crap, it was so long too! Her little author’s note at the top stated she was sorry for the wait and wanted to put out an incredibly long chapter in terms of an apology.

“You don’t have to apologize Bernie, take your time!” Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a few people sitting at the other tables glanced in his direction but he ignored them.

This chapter was all about Robin’s quest to save Chrom from the spell he was under. She traveled to far away lands with her friends by her side(Lissa had to stay behind to act as a proxy ruler). Apparently the spell was foreign, from another land entirely. Sylvain paused to do a goggle search and apparently Bernadetta had made up a whole new country for this story that wasn’t in the original game!

The middle of the chapter was all treaty talk, and there were many a moments that Sylvain was worried Robin might say the wrong thing and start a war with this nation. Sure Ylisse had Robin but without Chrom, how would Ylisse be able to defend itself!?

He reached for his frappe and took a sip, paused and realized it was empty. Dang it, he had been slowly sipping at it while reading. He needed more refreshments and possibly a brownie. He got up from his chair and raced back to the counter to order another frappe and a brownie. He wasn’t one to stress eat but right now he really needed to stress eat. What if Robin messed up and there was a war and she could never see Chrom again!? Wait, Bernie said it would be a happy ending but that didn’t mean it would be a struggle to get there.

He remembered a fic she wrote a year ago that technically did have a happy ending but there was so much angst and struggle in between that all Sylvain wanted to do was to break into the story and save them from Fluffyteddybear48’s clutches. But because of everything the characters went through, the ending was so satisfying and perfect.

As he was waiting for his frappe to be made, he saw a response from Dimitri. Whoops, it was from twenty minutes ago. Apparently Dimitri could hang out in about an hour and a half. Well, better than nothing! He quickly responded back, saying that was fine and gave the name of the coffee shop as a possible place to meet.

Perfect, he got a new chapter by Bernie and he could hang out with a friend, today was going to be a good day!

Hearing his name being called, he went up to pick up his frappe, this one with some sugary syrup in it. If he was going to stress eat, he was going to do it right!

“Sylvain? Is that you?”

He was halfway to his table when he turned to the voice. A girl with dark hair looked at him with hopeful eyes. Sylvain blinked at her. “Yes?”

“Sylvain, it’s me? We…it was a couple months ago…”

Ah crap, one of his quickies that he met at the local club. “I’m a bit busy now so if we can pick this up later, that’ll be great. Or never, that works too.”

Her eyes widen, her expression falling to one of hurt and for a moment Sylvain feared she was going to cry. Please no, he already had enough emotions to deal with from Robin talking to the queen of another nation to save her husband. Sylvain really didn’t need this right now.

He felt a little bad as she walked away but not bad enough to chase after her. Honestly, he made it pretty clear that it was supposed to be a one time deal with no strings attached. At least this one didn’t slap him for it.

Well, enough about that! He got settled back in his seat and continued with the chapter. After a lot of nail biting negotiation, they had finally come to an agreement. Robin would complete a task for them and that country’s best mages would do everything in their power to help Chrom. The chapter ended with the queen of that country getting ready to tell Robin her task.

Gah! Sylvain wanted to know what was going to happen now! “What a cliffhanger…” Out of habit, he began typing up a long comment, stating his feelings on the chapter as a whole and of course everything he loved about it.

After finishing that and posting it, he pulled up his text message chat with Bernie. The last thing he sent her was two weeks ago when he was driving home for break. He had stopped for gas and the gas station had one of those children rides that cost quarters. Ingrid was carpooling with him, and he forced her to take a picture of him sitting in the fire truck, his legs way too long for it to the point he was worried about getting out after the picture. Bernie had sent him a laughing emoji of a dog and she actually did ask if he had trouble getting out.

Of course Sylvain had to make himself sound cool and say he got out with no problem. Well, with Ingrid’s help.

_“I just finished the chapter Bernie! It was so good! I’m so worried about Robin being able to complete the task but from how you wrote her, I think she can do it! Especially since she has all of her friends with her. I did have to look up what Grima was since the queen made comments about it and I had zero context for that and holy crap, I didn’t realize Robin had that thing in her. And I totally know you are going to bring it up later in the story and it’s going to make things more angsty and I’m so excited for that. But anyway, I hope you’re doing well over break! :)”_

Sylvain sent the text, looked up and startled, a few curses spewing out of his mouth. “Holy crap Dimitri, how long have you been standing there!?”

“For about fifteen minutes. I was curious to see how long it would take for you to notice.”

“Sheesh, you could have said something,” grumbled Sylvain. He kicked out the other chair with his foot. “You getting something? The frappes here are great.”

“Dedue is taking care of that.” Dimitri gestured to the counter.

“Doesn’t he ever get off?” Sylvain shook his head in disbelief.

“He does,” Dimitri said quickly. “He has off all break but he insisted on coming with for this rather than my father saddle me with a few bodyguards.”

Okay, Sylvain could see why that would be beneficial. Having Dimitri’s bodyguards take over the coffee shop would be a ridiculous sight.

“I’ve brought you a hot chocolate.” Dedue handed Dimitri the cup. Sylvain kicked out another chair but Dedue shook his head. “I’ll sit over there. I’m sure you two have some things to discuss as friends.”

“Sheesh, you think after sharing a sushi boat he would be more open with us.” Sylvain rolled his eyes.

“Dedue is…Dedue. Anyway, why the sudden wish to meet Sylvain? Unless…” Dimitri frowned. “Are you avoiding talking to your father again? Sylvain, don’t roll your eyes, this stuff is important. What if he wants to impart more wisdom on you about the Gautier household?”

“Then he can send it to me in a text or email. Besides, I know how this meeting is going to go. He’s going to talk about my grades and how I am a ‘shame to the family’ and that Gautiers need to get ‘exceptional’ grades. I mean, sure whatever, but we all know a Gautier that isn’t like that at all so obviously the brains doesn’t run in the family.”

“Sylvain, your father didn’t mean it like that…”

“Yeah, cause disowned Gautiers don’t count apparently.”

Dimitri grimaced. “Has he gotten in contact with you recently?”

“Nope, and I don’t think he’s tried to talk to my parents either.” Sylvain leaned back, and rested his hands behind his head. “Maybe he finally figured out that our parents aren’t willing to give him handouts.”

“Maybe but he is your brother…”

Sylvain was about to made another snide comment when he heard his text tone go off. A response from Bernie!

_“I’m glad you liked the chapter! It was a lot of work and I was worried how everyone would take it. And break has been going well for me, it’s super quiet and I love it! I hope your break is going well too.”_

Sylvain sighed. If only. Spending time at home was torture but it had to be done.

“I am quite surprised with how genuine you can be with a girl that isn’t Ingrid.”

“What does _that_ mean?”

“I mean no disrespect by it Sylvain, it’s just that you have the smile on your face that you only show us, not the fake one you have on when you speak to…any other girl really.”

Sylvain rolled his eyes. “Thanks, I think?”

“I think it’s good for you to broaden your horizons.”

“Says the guy that struggles to talk to any girl. Do I need to remind you of the time you gifted a dagger to a girl?”

Dimitri winced. “I was trying to forget about that.”

Sylvain shrugged. “Just accept it, you aren’t going to live it down. Anyway, there’s an arcade down the street. Let’s play for a bit.”

***

Garreg Mach Academy was very quiet over winter break. The only people left on campus were enough staff to keep the place running along with international students that couldn’t go home for the one month break until the start of the next semester. Well, and Bernadetta.

When she discovered she could stay on campus over the break last year, she took the opportunity to do just that. It was one of the best times of her life. Having a month to herself to just relax without having to worry about completing school assignments was great. She could focus on her writing and spend hours in the library without having to worry about someone stumbling upon her being a gremlin in the back corner. Sure the food situation was limited, the student center only open at certain hours but Bernadetta knew how to make do. She had take-out menus for everything nearby and her small room fridge was stuffed with instant meals.

The one thing that was different than last year was the communication she had with Sylvain. There was nothing too deep like how their first real conversation went but it was pleasant enough. It surprised her how many memes Sylvain managed to send her in the past three weeks.

His latest text was today, letting her know he would be back on campus, two days before the start of the next semester and he thought they should hang out tomorrow. As friends of course. After debating about it for a minute she decided, why not? Besides going to archery practice(practice had started a week before) and talking to the various workers on campus, her social interaction this break had been almost zero.

Maybe interacting with a boy she barely knew in person was a stretch(especially one like Sylvain) but hey, they had to start somewhere right? Also Ingrid had messaged Bernadetta telling her to let Ingrid know if Sylvain tried anything and she would “throw him into next week”.

She was broken out of her thoughts as a knock came from her door. Odd, it was three in the afternoon, the RA meeting was supposed to be at five today. Maybe it was moved up? Wouldn’t be the first time that happened.

Bernadetta hopped off her bed and headed for her door, thinking of every excuse to avoid the meeting. Maybe she could say she was sick? No, she used that excuse last time. Her period was giving her bad cramps? No, she couldn’t fake that well enough.

Sighing, she opened the door, bracing herself for her chirpy RA to let her know about the meeting being pushed up.

A towering man in a black suit and dark sunglasses looked down at her. “Ms. Varley, if you would come with me please.”


	9. Chapter 9

“I’ve never seen you this excited to spend time with a girl before,” Felix said in disbelief.

Sylvain gave Felix a deadpan look but he couldn’t stop the slight skip in his step as they walked back to the dorms. It was still a bit chilly despite being almost the end of winter but it was nothing compared to the cold weather of the north and Sylvain and Felix were only in light jackets. “I’m sorry for being excited to spend some _friendship_ time with Bernie tomorrow. When you get to spend time with a famous fencer or whatever, you’ll understand!”

“She’s not even famous. You just like her work.”

“Well she should be famous!” Feeling his phone vibrate, he saw it was a message from one of his usual girls. Ah, she was on campus already and wanted him to stop by for a bit. Hmmm, well besides getting dinner with the childhood quartet, he wasn’t doing much. Perfect!

“Hey, isn’t that Bernie?”

Sylvain was about to send a response but he looked up at Felix’s comment and frowned as he took in the scene.

A tall burly man in a black suit was dragging poor Bernadetta out of one of the dorm buildings. She was obviously not wanting to go with him as her heels were digging into the ground but he was much stronger than her and pulling her along with no issue.

Sylvain shoved his phone into his pocket before taking off towards them. He heard Felix call out but Sylvain ignored him. As he got closer, he saw Bernadetta looked terrified as she kept trying to pull away from him.

“No, no, I don’t want to go!”

Without needing to think about it, Sylvain came upon them, closed his hands into a fist and clocked the man in the face. He released Bernadetta in surprise and reeled back, obviously not expecting the punch.

“Come on!” Sylvain grabbed Bernadetta’s hand and began running.

“Of course, you’re leaving this mess to me!” yelled Felix after them but he cracked his knuckles as he approached the man.

Sylvain saluted to Felix before focusing on getting away. He didn’t know how good her stamina was but she was shorter than him so he decided hiding was probably better than trying to outrun the guy. “In here!” Sylvain pushed open the door to the math building and after a quick glance to make sure the man was nowhere in sight(thank you Felix), he pulled Bernadetta inside and tried the door to one of the classrooms. Sighing in relief that it was unlocked, he led her inside and then slammed the door shut and sat on the floor in front of the door.

“If we sit right here, he can’t see us through the window if he does come in.” Although Sylvain doubted the man would come this far. There were so many buildings on campus and the chance of him going to this exact one was slim at best, especially with Felix keeping him distracted.

Bernadetta sat down next to him. “Thank you Sylvain.”

“No problem Bernie. But seriously, I would love to give that guy a piece of my mind.” Sylvain punched his fist into his open palm. “We should let public safety know.” Wait, since he had dragged Bernadetta out of a dorm building, was that where Bernie’s dorm was? Ugh, then that guy probably knew where she lived. Maybe it would be safer for her to go somewhere else? Would Ingrid let Bernie stay with her until this was cleared up?

“Uh, but, well uh.”

“Don’t worry about it Bernie, we’ll make sure that creep doesn’t bother you anymore.”

“He works for my dad!”

Sylvain paused in mid-text and looked at Bernadetta. “Huh?”

She fidgeted in place. “He, uh, works for my dad. He was trying to get me to go see my dad. My dad’s in town and wanted to get dinner with me but I really didn’t want to see him and I know it probably looked bad but oh Bernie, you probably messed everything up and now everyone else is going to get in trouble cause you’re so stupid.”

Sylvain opened and shut his mouth. Oh boy. “So, uh, is there a reason you don’t want to see your dad?”

“Well the last time he wanted to have a meal with me he brought a boy with him for me to meet. It was so awkward and I ended up hiding under the table and my dad was so mad about it afterwards.”

Sylvain frowned, noting how Bernadetta’s fidgeting got worse as she brought up the incident with her dad, her eyes darting here and there. “Why did he bring a boy for you to meet?”

“Oh to uh, as a possible suitor I mean. My dad is very…pushy about me marrying well. He’s very focused on making sure I will be a good wife. He’s totally going to make sure I go to this meeting…”

Sylvain was really not liking this guy. He leaned back against the door. “Well, what if I go with you?”

“Huh?”

“Like as a friend. A male friend. To get your dad off your back.”

“Sylvain, you don’t have to…”

“If this gives you peace of mind I’ll do it.” He shrugged. “It’s not like my reputation can take a hit anyway from something like this.” If anything, he already destroyed it with all of his relations with girls. “Besides, you said he won’t leave you alone right until you end up going?”

“Yeah…”

“So then I’ll help you to make sure he does leave you alone!” He looked down at his outfit. He usually dressed well and up to date with the fashion trends but this was a situation that called for something a little more extreme. “Hmmm, I should probably change.”

“You don’t have to do that much!”

“Don’t worry about it.” Sylvain looked down at his phone and saw Felix was calling. “Hey Felix.”

“Apparently that guy works for Bernie’s dad.”

“Yeah, I know that. I’m going to help her out regarding this whole thing. Can you stay with her until I can get changed and stuff? Or is Ingrid busy? She’s in horse club right now right?”

“Of course you’re going to help her out,” grumbled Felix. “Yeah, I’ll keep an eye on her. I think Annette is on campus now too so I’ll ask her if she’s willing to come over and help.”

“That’ll be awesome. And you didn’t get beaten up too bad right?”

“Didn’t even get hit. I had a conversation with the guy. I just let him know my friend was an idiot and he’s searching the campus for you guys.”

Great, that was something Sylvain was going to have to keep an eye on when he went back up to his room. After coordinating where to meet up and whatnot, Sylvain hung up and turned to Bernadetta. “Felix and hopefully Annette will be here soon to stay with you while I get all ready to go for this thing.” He grinned at her. “Don’t look so worried Bernie, we’ll get this all sorted out, trust me on this one!”

After a moment hesitation she nodded. “O…okay Sylvain. If you say so.”

***

Bernadetta fidgeted in place and then stopped, thinking it might annoy Felix and then started again because she couldn’t sit still. They were waiting for Sylvain inside the math building, sitting at the desks in one of the classrooms. Felix had his arms crossed and he slouched low in his seat, staring at the blackboard like it had offended him.

“Annette couldn’t come, she’s busy.”

Bernadetta almost jumped out of her seat, Felix sounded so grumpy and annoyed.

“Sylvain can be an idiot at times but he’s good at stuff like this, he’ll help you out.”

Felix still sounded ticked off but was he trying to encourage her? It was hard to tell based on his tone of voice and the set of those eyebrows. Or was that just how his face was? She knew some people couldn’t help looking mean. Like Hubert. Maybe.

“But seriously, who hires a guy to drag his daughter to a meeting? That’s a bit much,” grumbled Felix.

“Did he, uh hurt you?” Bernadetta whispered. Felix had no visible injuries but she knew her dad always hired the best when it came down to these sort of situations. Sylvain had probably taken him by surprise to even get the punch in.

Felix shrugged. “It wasn’t a big deal, I just pretended to check if he was okay and distract him long enough until you had gotten away. Didn’t even have to physically injure him although I was very tempted to do so…”

“Uh, I’m glad you didn’t. I mean, you could probably handle it but he would probably hurt you really bad. They’re really good at their job I mean.”

“Yeah but attacking a Fraldarius would not go well for him.”

Bernadetta’s eyes widen. Thanks to her dad, she was forced to memorize the names of families with a high amount of wealth in order to get close to them and possibly marry them for their money. The Fraldarius was a part of the Blaiddyd Conglomerate. In fact, now that she was thinking about it, so were Sylvain’s family, the Gautiers.

Felix’s phone went off and he pulled it out to check it. Bernadetta couldn’t help but show her surprise at the cute chibi dog charm hanging off it. “Annette wanted us to have matching charms,” grumbled Felix but his eyes softened slightly as he looked at it.

Maybe he wasn’t as scary as Bernadetta thought.

“Sylvain says he’s ready to go. He’s waiting for us outside. He said to hurry in case your _friend_ spots him.”

Bernadetta meekly followed Felix out of the building and had to stop and stare. Sylvain looked like the guy she had seen in his social media. His clothes the high-end of fashion, and a little tight so it showed off how toned he was, hair carefully set in a way that made him seem pompous. The gold watch on his wrist seemed to catch every bit of sunlight and seemed to be yelling at everyone to look at him. He looked like the type of guy that would have nothing to do with someone like Bernadetta and as he approached, she feared he was going to start flirting with her like he did on their first meeting.

“I hope you weren’t mean to Bernie!” Sylvain gave Felix a warning look.

Felix rolled his eyes. “Was I mean to you?”

Bernadetta had to resist the urge to yelp as Felix looked at her with that annoyed expression. “Uh, no, it…he was fine.”

Based on the way Sylvain was frowning, it was obvious Bernadetta wasn’t doing a good job of selling the fact.

“Well, I’ll deal with you later about that Felix!”

Felix rolled his eyes again. “Well, you better get going.”

Sylvain nodded. “Right. Okay, leave everything to me Bernie, I’ll fix this problem in no time!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long break from the release of the previous chapter to this one! I've been having wrist pain(it's been slowly getting better) so I've been taking it easy on the writing front. Chapters will probably come out slower from here on out until I can figure out whatever is going on here. T_T


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the well wishes guys! Wrists have been feeling a little better and I'm hoping to be able to go to the doctor to get it looked at soon!

This had to be the most awkward situation Bernadetta had ever been in. She shifted in place and looked out the car window. Finding her dad’s “friend” was the easy part. Sylvain had sauntered up to him and explained that he would be going with Bernadetta as her _friend_. He really did stress the friend part. After a couple of moments where Bernadetta was worried he was going to punch Sylvain, he shrugged and gestured for them to follow.

So now here they were, in a car, driving to wherever her father had wanted to meet her.

Feeling her phone vibrate, she took it out and saw it was a text from Sylvain. She looked over in confusion as he was sitting right next to her. Well, sitting was probably not how she would describe it. It was more like lounging. He was half slouched, his elbow resting on the side rest as he looked out the window, looking incredibly bored. He was tapping his thigh with his other hand, the pinnacle of a bored rich boy who lived off his parents money.

Noticing she was looking at him, he gestured with his eyes to her phone. Looking down, she read his text.

_“Everything will be okay Bernie! I know what I’m doing so you don’t have to worry!”_ The amount of cute stickers and emojis trailing after it, all with the theme of “Don’t give up” was ridiculous and so extra that she couldn’t help but crack a small smile.

Glancing up, she saw Sylvain wink at her before focusing out the window.

Before long the car pulled up to one of the most expensive restaurants in town. It was so expensive and exclusive that reservations needed to be made a year and sometimes more in advance and everything on the menu were high double-digits and most more than that.

The man in the suit got out of the car first and roughly opened the door on Sylvain’s side. “We’re here,” he grumbled.

Sylvain saluted as he got out. As Bernadetta went to slid out from the same side, Sylvain stopped her with a hand gesture before hurrying to the other side of the car and opened the door on her side. “My lady.” He held out a hand.

Gulping, she took it and got out of the car.

“Your father is waiting for you inside. This way Miss Varley…and Mr. Gautier.”

“Sheesh, you punch a guy once and he holds a grudge forever. It’s not my fault, he’s not good at his job. Also Bernie, you can let up a little, I can’t feel my fingers…”

“Oh! I’m sorry Sylvain!” She released him and rubbed her hands together. Stupid Bernie, what if she broke Sylvain’s hand? Well, she probably couldn’t, she wasn’t that strong but still! She could sprain it. Wait, could a hand be sprained from clutching it too hard!?

Her thoughts swirled around and around as she followed her dad’s man and Sylvain into the restaurant. The lighting was dim, the interior modern and a live jazz band was playing in a corner of the room. Everyone was dressed up and Bernadetta felt like she was really out of place in her sweatshirt and comfy pajama pants, her hair frazzled and messy. Why didn’t she think to change like Sylvain did!? She could feel everyone looking at her, probably judging and wondering why a girl like her was in a place like this.

They were led to the back of the restaurant, into a private room. Her father’s man positioned himself outside the door probably set there so if Bernadetta tried to run, he could stop her. That had happened once. She had made it halfway down the block before anyone thought of chasing after her.

“Go on,” he growled, gesturing for them to go on.

“Don’t mind if we do,” Sylvain said smoothly, leading the way inside.

A single table was set up in the large private room, obviously set aside for parties. Bernadetta’s father, Henrick Varley was waiting for them at the table. Dressed up in a suit and tie, his disgust and disappointment seeing Bernadetta was so evident and strong that she wanted to hide under the table like last time. Thankfully this time, there was no boy in sight.

“Took you long enough to get here Bernadetta. And you are?”

Sylvain confidently walked over to the table and pulled out a seat, pointedly ignoring Henrick’s question. Realizing he was waiting for her, Bernadetta hurried over and took the seat. After making sure she was settled, Sylvain sat next to her, shifting his seat over slightly so he was closer to her than Henrick. The waiter came by to fill up their water glasses and handed out menus.

“What are you in the mood for Bernie? The lobster sounds good. Wait, do you have any food allergies? I don’t think I ever asked you.”

“Uh, I don’t have any allergies…” Bernadetta glanced at her father and then at the menu. It was a good thing that Henrick did not have the power to burn people with his eyes because Sylvain would have been a pile of ashes by now.

“Then I’ll go with the beef tenderloin!” Sylvain handed his menu to the waiter.

Bernadetta noticed that was the most expensive thing on the menu, cooked in a very expensive wine and saffron and truffles. “I’ll have the crab cakes,” she stammered.

“And for your meal?” asked the waiter.

Crap, the crab cakes was an appetizer. “T…that’s fine! I don’t need anything else.” Who knew how much she would eat right now anyway?

“Get an extra plate, we’ll share if she isn’t full from the crab cakes.” Sylvain winked and leaned back in his chair.

“Of course sir.” The waiter took the menu from Bernadetta and left the large room.

Sylvain took a sip of water before finally nodding to Henrick. “I realized I haven’t introduced myself. Sylvain Gautier.”

“Gautier,” repeated Henrick. Bernadetta could tell his mind was whirling as he placed the name to the family in question. The slight twitch of the eyes and Bernadetta could tell he had placed it and Henrick immediately relaxed, the eyes softening. “What are you to my daughter?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Sylvain shrugged.

Henrick looked at Bernadetta and then back at him and then back to her. “So Bernadetta?”

Bernadetta couldn’t meet his eye and she looked down at the white tablecloth and started counting each individual strand of fabric.

“Bernadetta!”

She winced and felt herself drawing inward, the steely tone in Henrick’s voice taking her back to when she lived at home and he was demanding something or other from her. Feeling warmth against her hand, she looked down to see Sylvain had reached over under the table and grasped her hand. He gave her a small squeeze before letting go, leaning forward slightly.

“Why don’t we keep today pleasant? I’m sure you know Bernie is a quiet one.” Sylvain’s expression was dark, his eyes cold.

Henrick examined Sylvain for a moment and then looked at Bernadetta before pulling out his phone. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a quick call to make.”

“Of course. Go on, I know how important _business_ can be.”

Henrick got up from the table and left the room.

Bernadetta let out a long sigh and her tense shoulder slumped.

“Really hope I’m not overstepping here Bernie,” spoke up Sylvain. He fiddled with his gold watch and looked at her nervously, almost no trace of the confident boy from earlier on his face. 

“Huh?”

“I mean, I’m implying that we’re…you know. Of course I don’t think like that at all Bernie! We’re totally not like _that_ and it’s cool but I thought it would be the best way to quickly get your dad off your back since he seems like the type that cares a lot about this kind of stuff but I don’t want to put you in an awkward position…” Sylvain sighed and picked up his water glass and downed it one long gulp.

She had to crack a small smile at Sylvain’s antics. “It’s…it’s okay Sylvain. I get it and it’s uh, fine.”

“Are you sure?” He frowned.

She nodded. “It’s not like he pays much attention to me after these kinds of things anyway.” Although would he pay attention more now that Sylvain has declared he was her….nope, she couldn’t even think of him like that, it was too weird.

“He doesn’t pay that much attention to you?” Sylvain frowned.

Before Bernadetta could respond, Henrick walked back into the room. Immediately Sylvain slipped back into his role and Bernadetta resumed her usual behavior of staring at the table.

“Sorry about leaving like that, work can be quite hectic at times, I am sure you are aware of that as well Sylvain Gauiter.”

Sylvain nodded. “Of course. I’m going into the business field myself, I’m inheriting my family’s fortune after all.”

“Oh, are you now?”

Bernadetta could hear the hopeful edge in her father’s voice. Could he be any more desperate?

“Well, that is smart of you to do so and your family must be proud to continue your family’s legacy.”

As her father spoke, the waiter came out with their meals and Bernadetta became hyper focused on eating her crab cakes. Each word felt like a pin was being pushed into her stomach.

“Tell me Sylvain Gautier, I am curious, what about my daughter has caught your eye? She is a very….” Henrick paused for a moment. “…quiet girl.”

“Well, it was her writing. It is very articulate and well done and well that was what attracted me to her,” Sylvain replied smoothly.

“Her writing,” Henrick’s nose wrinkled like he had just eaten something sour. “You’re still writing that trifle? Honestly, I know you want to become an _editor_ of all things but you should focus more on applying and looking for internships.”

Bernadetta winced, her food not having any taste anymore.

Sylvain put down his utensils, his eyes cold. “Sir Varley, I _greatly_ enjoy your daughter’s work and you should be proud you have a daughter with as much skill as she does.”

Bernadetta could tell a conversation had passed in the silent stare down between Henrick and Sylvain. Henrick was the first to look away and he focused on his meal, the room suddenly quiet.

The rest of the meal passed by in almost silence, Sylvain and Henrick painfully pleasant to each other. When the dessert menu was brought out, Bernadetta shook her head, the crab cakes already not sitting well in her stomach. Sylvain passed as well and stood. “Well, it’s probably time for the two of us to get back to campus. Come on Bernie.”

Bernadetta scrambled to her feet and after a murmured goodbye, she followed Sylvain out. Her father’s man was waiting for them and he brought the car out front and took them back to campus. Sylvain saluted to him as they got out.

“Finally,” he said with a sigh after the car pulled away and they were walking in the direction of the dorms. He removed the watch from his wrist and shoved it into his pocket and ruffled his hair.

“I’m sorry you had to do all that for me,” she mumbled.

“It was no problem at all Bernie! Seriously, if he comes by again doing stupid stuff like this, let me know, I will be over in a minute to help you out! But honestly, I can understand why you didn’t want to meet him, he’s obviously a piece of work…oh sorry Bernie.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s true, you can say it.” She gave him a pained smile. It had obviously gone so well since Sylvain was of the Gautier family. Henrick had probably seen the dollar signs. “But thank you Sylvain. He’ll probably leave me alone about that kind of stuff for now.”

“Well I’m glad about that at least. What are your plans after this?”

“I’m probably going to go up to my room and write or something. Today was a long day…”

“I totally get you. Oh, are we going to hang out tomorrow though right? I was looking up stuff in the area and I found this really cute and quaint used bookstore on the other end of town. We don’t have to but I thought it would be fun and there’s apparently a local ice cream parlor just down the street from it. Wait, do you eat ice cream in the winter?” He paused. “Or we don’t have to do that at all if you don’t want to, I just wanted to suggest it so we don’t have to hang around campus-but if you want to, that’s fine too!”

Bernadetta shook her head. “No, I like that idea. Sounds good.”

“Awesome! I’ll see you tomorrow then! Oh do you want me to walk you back to your dorm or you good?”

“I think I’ll be fine, thanks Sylvain.”

“No problem. I’ll see you tomorrow then Bernie!”

Bernadetta waved goodbye before heading back to her own room. As she took the stairs up, she suddenly remembered the floor meeting was supposed to be at five. Looking at her phone, she groaned, it was six. Her RA was definitely going to chew her out for missing it. Well, might as well get it over with so she could get back to work on the next fanfiction chapter.


	11. Chapter 11

Bernadetta looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She had gone with one of her long-sleeved shirts, over a baggy sweatshirt coupled with a pair of jeans. Was this enough to wear for a day out with Sylvain? Usually she wouldn’t care about this kind of stuff but he had dressed up to help her out yesterday, the least she could do was not look like a bum. She didn’t know if the clothes sold it but, at least, her hair was free of knots as she had run a brush through it so it didn’t look like a rat’s nest.

She returned to her room and grabbed her phone and her purse(a limited edition one of a character’s face from one of her favorite anime). As she headed out, she noticed an email from her mother. Her mother for some reason had never gotten texting down and opening it, the first half was filled with her usual pleasantries but the second half was where the real meat of the conversation was. Aka, her mother had found out from her father about Bernadetta “dating” the heir to the Gautier fortune.

“Dad didn’t wait long about that did he…” Bernadetta sighed. She composed a quick email back to her mother, responding to all the questions posed and making it clear that Sylvain was just a friend helping her out. She wasn’t worried about her mother telling on her. Despite her mother’s reluctance to stand up to Henrick to his face, her mother was able to work in the shadows, having her own little rebellions here and there. It was only due to her influence that Bernadetta ended up being able to go to Garreg Mach in the first place despite her father wanting her to stay at home and continue to train to “be a good wife”.

She finished with the email and stuffed her phone in the pocket of her hoodie. The weather was definitely heading towards spring and she wasn’t shivering. Since it was the day before classes, many students were milling around the pathways and some had taken over the outdoor benches and sat under the trees. It always took Bernadetta a few days to get used to the sudden shift in the school atmosphere overnight.

Getting close to the student parking lot, she slowed and pulled out her phone to recheck the meeting location. It was around here right? She wasn’t sure if Sylvain was the type of person to come on time or late so she had hurried over, not wanting him to have to wait more than he had to.

Although perhaps she should not have worried. Sylvain was casually leaning against the railing that separated the parking lot from the school grounds. A pair of girls were talking to him, their gestures and the way they casually ran their fingers along his arms…

Well, Bernadetta wasn’t very versed in relationship stuff outside of what she read and watched and wrote herself but it was quite obvious why Sylvain was talking to them. The boy in question was giving them the same signals, his demeanor laid back, his expression having a flirty edge. He would reach out and twirl a finger around the hair of one of the girls’ or he would give them a wink or a smile. It was incredibly fascinating to watch and Bernadetta started taking mental notes. It might not be useful for her current fic but a future fic with any flirty character? This would be perfect!

As if sensing her stare, Sylvain glanced in her direction. Startled, Bernadetta jumped slightly and gave him an awkward wave. For a moment, his eyes brightened to the boy that she knew before he reverted to the flirty persona and he turned back to the girls. After a moment of conversation, he walked away from them and hurried over to her.

“Sorry about that Bernie! They saw me while I was waiting for you.”

“It’s okay,” she said quickly. “I hope I wasn’t too late.”

“It’s fine, I wanted to come by early.” He gestured to his car, a high end convertible. “It was pretty cold last night so I wanted to auto start it so it would be warm and toasty inside. I even made sure the seat warmers were turned on!”

Bernadetta opened the passenger side and climbed in. Beautiful leather interior and the car had the distinct new car smell. It was also surprisingly clean but maybe that made sense considering the kind of person he was when he did not have the flirty persona. It was also incredibly warm in here to the point she was debating on taking off her sweatshirt.

“You can adjust the temperature however you like,” Sylvain said as he got in. He pulled out his phone and set it in the phone holder that sat in his cupholder. “I use my phone to play music, anything in particular you like?”

“No, I’m good with anything really.” She did lower the temperature a bit and turn off the seat warmer. Fainting in his car from overheating would probably not be a good look.

“Hmmm, oh how about the Awakening soundtrack? I took a listen to it after you mentioned how you listened to a few of the tracks while writing certain scenes. The ‘future of despair’ track is really cool.”

Bernadetta nodded. “It really does help, especially since I’ve played the game so I can visualize stuff with the music since I associate it with the game. Sometimes scenes are really hard to write and having the music really helps me get into the writing mindset.”

“That makes sense. Ingrid says she’ll visualize what she wants to do beforehand if she’s having trouble with a jump or trick or something in horse club.”

“Horse club?”

“Oh, right, the equestrian team it’s called I think? I just call it horse club. They are just riding horses after all, although some of the fancy tricks she does on it is really cool. Of course don’t tell her I said that, I have a reputation to uphold!”

Bernadetta looked out the city as the city passed them by. It was very cool that Sylvain had a car on campus. She never bothered with it, the college’s bus line good enough to get her any place she wanted to go off campus which usually was to go to the grocery store to restock her fridge or the mall.

“So, how did the writing go yesterday?”

“Huh? Oh, it went fine. I’m about halfway through the chapter. Robin is fighting a dragon by herself.”

“She’s fighting a dragon by herself!? Where’s everyone else!? Oh man was this the task sent by the queen? Wait, don’t tell me, I’ll figure it out when the chapter comes out. Oh but I want to know now. Gah this is such a struggle!”

Bernadetta had to crack a smile as Sylvain freaked out. It was one thing to see it in written form but to actually see someone talk about her work like this in person was something else entirely!

Before long, Sylvain pulled the car up in front of a quaint little bookshop with bright red painted walls. “Oh wow, it looked a lot bigger in the pictures,” he commented.

“They’re usually like this.” Bernadetta got out of the car and walked up to the door. The little bell on top of the door jangled as she opened it and a smile lit up her face as the sweet vanilla scent of old books invaded her nose.

***

What was that saying? A bull in a china shop? Yeah, that was it. Sylvain felt like a bull in a china shop.

The book store was _cramped_. The shelves were close together, packed tight with books, the singular walkway in between the shelves barely enough room for a person to walk through. Sylvain was scared if he stretched his arm out too far he was going to knock books off a shelf. Bernadetta didn’t seem to have the same kind of worry. As soon as she stepped in, she had zoomed away faster than Sylvain thought possible, weaving through the shelves like she had done it hundreds of times before.

It took him almost five minutes to find her in the back of the store, her eyes shining as she looked into a glass case. Wait, why did a bookstore have a glass case anyway!? Going closer, he saw it was a glass case displaying books. Old books by the looks of it, the covers filigreed in gold.

“What’s up Bernie?”

“They have a first edition copy of _Loog_ _and the Blue Knight!_ ”

Sylvain stared at her blankly, not understanding why this was such a big deal. Oh wait, didn’t Ingrid like these Loog books? Curiously, he peered over her shoulder and he looked at the price tag in disbelief. “Why is it so expensive!?”

“It’s a first edition copy. They only made around two hundred of them I think?” She sighed. “It was so nice being able to see it. I’m going to check out the reference books if you don’t mind Sylvain.”

“Go ahead Bernie, take your time.”

As she disappeared into the depths of the store, Sylvain looked back to the glass case. There were a few other books there but the Loog book was the most impressive. Thinking, he pulled out his phone and did a few searches online.

***

“I’m sorry I took so long!” Bernadetta got into Sylvain’s car, a bag of books in hand. Stupid, stupid, she was so stupid! She had gotten so focused on looking at books that she had not seen Sylvain’s text about waiting in the car for her until thirty minutes afterwards.

“It’s cool, don’t worry about it Bernie.” Sylvain put his phone in the cup holder. “Good book haul?”

“I found a couple reference books that would help with writing and a few others in series I’m collecting.”

“Cool, cool. You up for ice cream now?”

“Yes, let’s go get some.” Truthfully she wasn’t too big on ice cream in the winter but she felt bad for making Sylvain wait so long and he seemed really into getting some.

“Great! Oh wait, before we get going, random question but when’s your birthday?”

“My birthday? Ethereal Moon, twelfth. Why do you ask?”

“Well, I guess this is a belated birthday present then.” Sylvain reached into the back seat of the car and pulled out a small wrapped package.

Bernadetta’s eyes widen as she stared at the package like it would bite her. “Sylvain you didn’t have to…”

“It’s okay! I did it because I wanted to. Open it!”

Bernadetta accepted the package and carefully removed the brown wrapping paper. The copy of the _Loog and the Blue Knight_ looked up at her. She stared at it flabbergasted and then looked at Sylvain. “I can’t…I can’t accept this,” she stammered.

“It’s fine Bernie! Really.”

“N…No, I’ll pay for part of it!” This book would burn through two months of her monthly allowance. And Sylvain just bought it for her!?

“Put your money away Bernie, I don’t want it. It’s a birthday present! You don’t pay for your birthday present.”

“But, this is…”

“It’s okay! Really.” He smiled gently at her. “If I didn’t want to do it I wouldn’t have. It’s yours now Bernie, no take backs!”

She had the feeling that even if she insisted, Sylvain would not give in on this matter. She clutched the book to her chest. “Thank you,” she murmured. “When’s your birthday by the way?”

“Garland Moon, fifth.”

She nodded and looked out the window as Sylvain began the trip over to the ice cream parlor. There was enough time between now and then. She had to get something for him that rivaled this book.

***

“So, how did your date go?”

Sylvain looked at Felix in annoyance before grabbing the tuna roll Felix was going for in retaliation. “It wasn’t a date!”

“You were hanging out with a girl, it was a date.” Felix rolled his eyes.

“I agree with Sylvain on this one,” said Dimitri. “Based on how Sylvain defines a date, it probably wasn’t a date.”

“You didn’t do anything weird to Bernie right?” Ingrid glared at him.

“I didn’t!” Sylvain grabbed another roll from the sushi boat in protest. The quartet(plus Dedue) had their traditional sushi boat dinner the day before classes started. Sylvain had invited Bernadetta to join them but she refused, stating she wanted to get some writing done before class tomorrow.

“We just went to a used book store and got ice cream afterwards. Bernie looked like she was having fun!”

“Well I’m going to check with her later.” Ingrid’s threatening glare made it clear that if Sylvain wasn’t telling the truth, there would be hell to pay. 

“Fine, you do that,” grumbled Sylvain. “Oh! Since you are going to talk to her, can you make her feel better about me buying a book for her? It was a book she wanted to get!” he added in protest as everyone looked at him. Sheesh, why did they always think the worst of him?

“Okay…” said Ingrid.

“It was a first edition copy of _Loog and the Blue Knight.”_

“A first…” Ingrid stared at Sylvain. “What!?”

“What is the matter?” asked Dimitri with a frown.

“It’s…Sylvain, you dropped that much money for her!?” Ingrid whipped out her phone and typed something into it and showed Dimitri and Felix. Both of them looked at the screen and their eyes widen and they looked at Sylvain.

“Are you sure you don’t want to sleep with her?” Felix asked with a frown.

“No I don’t!”

“I believe him, Sylvain doesn’t put this much effort and money into girls he wants to have…those kinds of relations with,” said Dimitri.

“Thanks...I think.”

Ingrid looked at him curiously. “Why did you buy her the book anyway?”

“Because she wanted it? Seriously, can’t I do a nice thing for a friend?”

“Well you can but this…”

Sylvain focused on the sushi boat and contemplated the next piece of sushi to eat. He couldn’t tell them why Bernadetta’s stories meant so much to him and why he owed a lot to her. So what if it cost a lot? Seeing that happy expression on her face as she carefully flipped through the pages was worth it, especially with the events of the previous day and everything that happened with her dad.

“I will say, Sylvain was being a good friend and I think this relationship should be encouraged and not ridiculed for it,” spoke up Dedue.

Sylvain looked at Dedue in shock.

“I’m only stating the truth. May I have an avocado roll?”

Sylvain handed one over. That’s it, Dedue was definitely getting a birthday present from him this year.

“I guess but it’s a still a little much.” Ingrid shook her head. “Well I’ll talk to Bernie later about it.”


	12. Chapter 12

Sylvain smiled and took the picture. Perfect. The angle was perfect, the use of the ruler to show the size just added a little extra detail to the shot. He was totally going to have a good night because of this! He threw his phone on his bed and put his pants back on. Now which shirt would he go with today…

As he was digging through a drawer, he heard his phone go off. A text from Bernadetta! They hadn’t been able to hang out since classes started two weeks ago. Between the assignments and club activities(for Bernie at least), there just was no time. Although she did manage to release the next chapter of the fanfiction and Sylvain wanted to die inside after reading it. Robin had been sent on a quest to defeat a monstrous dragon that was terrorizing the country. After a harrowing battle that had Sylvain on the edge of his seat, Robin had defeated it and crawled back to the queen bleeding and wounded. The chapter ended with Robin collapsing before the queen and although Sylvain knew Robin was going to be alright, he still worried that maybe Bernadetta had changed her mind about the story having a happy ending.

Checking the text, he sighed. Apparently Bernadetta had an archery competition this weekend. Oh wait. He texted her back asking if it was a home or away game(did archery competitions even use those terms?). How cool would it be to go and cheer Bernie on? Apparently she was super good at it too! Maybe he could rope in the others in cheering her on too!

He threw down his phone and put a shirt on before going back to his phone. Time to send that picture! He quickly attached it and sent it out right as a text came in from Bernadetta below it. Sylvain spat out every curse he knew. He hadn’t been paying attention and accidently sent the picture to Bernadetta.

This was bad! Really bad! He slammed the call button and put the phone up to his ear, his heart pounding. Please, please, please, let her not have seen it!

He heard a click and Bernadetta’s soft confused voice, “Uh hello?”

“Bernie, did you see my latest text?”

“No, hang on I’ll look at it now.”

“NO!”

She let out a small shriek.

Sylvain felt bad but this was a matter of life and death. “Listen to my Bernie, don’t open our text chain. Delete the whole thing without looking.”

“But…”

“I’ll resend you all the meme pics and stuff, just whatever you do _don’t_ open our text chat! I’m serious! Don’t open it. Delete it right now.”

“Uh, okay.” After a moment of silence she spoke up. “Okay, I deleted it.”

Sylvain let out a long, drawn out sigh in relief. “Thanks Bernie.”

“What did you send me?”

“Oh, it was nothing important. Just sent something to you by mistake but since it’s deleted right now, everything is cool!”

“Uh…okay?”

Sylvain felt really bad, Bernadetta sounded so confused but their friendship was on the line! She wasn’t Ingrid, who was used to Sylvain’s antics since they were children and was able to just shrug something like this off. “A…anyway, if you don’t mind, I’ll come cheer you on for your archery thing this weekend! I’ve never seen you in action before and it’ll be cool to see!”

“That’s fine. Uh, I’ll see you then.”

“I’ll see you then Bernie!” Sylvain hung out and let out another long sigh of relief. That was way too close. He was so emotionally wrecked and he didn’t want to send the picture to the planned recipient. However he wanted to have a fun night, so he sent it to the intended recipient after double checking the text chat.

***

Bernadetta stared at her phone, not really sure how to take that conversation she just had with Sylvain. What in the world was that? What did he send her that he really did not want her to see? She had been curious but she did delete the whole text chat as per his insistence. But that was all so strange…

She pulled open the text chat with Ingrid. About two weeks ago, Ingrid had contacted her after finding out about the Loog book. She made it clear that her chat was always open to Bernadetta, especially for things involving Sylvain. That had led to Bernadetta being included in the group chat with their whole friend group. In the beginning of the school year, she would have never imagined herself being in a group chat with the heir of the Blaiddyd Conglomerate, his childhood friends, along with Dedue, Annette and Mercedes. It was a casual chat, mostly filled with memes and plans to hang out. Bernadetta had only posted once to introduce herself and then lurked for the rest of the time. They were a very friendly, fun group and she felt like she was learning more sides to Felix out of everyone else in the group chat. He used so many cute emojis.

_“Hey Ingrid, if you don’t mind I have a question for you? It involves Sylvain.”_

_“What did he do!? Do I need to go over there and teach him a lesson for you?”_ An emoji of a fist was at the end of the message.

_“No, no, it wasn’t anything that bad. At least I don’t think so. He texted me something but before I could look at it, he called me, frantic about me deleting the text. Like it was kind of scary how frantic he was. I was just wondering what that was about?”_

A long pause. 

Was Ingrid in class now? Bernadetta checked the clock on the wall and realized she should probably start getting ready for her next class. As she threw on a hoodie, she heard her phone go off with a response.

_“Don’t worry about it, Sylvain was just being an idiot. Be glad he caught you in time before you saw it. I’ve gotten many a pictures by accident and let’s just say, I know way too much about him. There was one time he accidently put a pic up in our group chat. Be glad you weren’t around for that!”_

Wait what? Was there a code to this or something? _“I don’t get it?”_

_“He sends pictures to those girls he…spends the night with. Yeah, let’s go with that.”_

Oh. OH.

Bernadetta made a face. She had definitely dodged a bullet there. Well, she knew Sylvain was that kind of person but sometimes she forgot considering how he talked and treated her and she didn’t follow him on social media.

_“He definitely did it on accident to you though so don’t worry too much! If he didn’t care about you seeing it, he wouldn’t have called you right away to fix it.”_

She could tell Ingrid was trying to make her feel better but it was super weird to think about. She shivered and focused on the Loog book currently in a glass case on top of her dresser. She had bought the case the same day she had gotten the book. There was no way she could leave it out and exposed to the elements! That was the Sylvain she knew and had to keep reminding herself of that. Especially since he was apparently coming to cheer her on during the archery competition this weekend.

“Don’t make things weird Bernie,” she reminded herself, as she grabbed her bookbag and headed for class.


	13. Chapter 13

Bernadetta was _so cool_. Sylvain had never been to an archery competition before so he didn’t know how exciting it was to watch people hit targets. Especially Bernie! It was like she became someone else as she lined up her shots and aimed for the targets. No fear, no hesitation, it was so different than the Bernadetta Sylvain had gotten to know over the past few months and it was cool seeing her like that. Every time she hit the target he wanted to get up and yell and cheer but it seemed like archery was like golf and everyone stayed super quiet.

He also couldn’t share the moment with anyone as all of his friends were busy with their own sports. Why did everyone have to have games and competitions over the weekend!? Bernadetta glanced in his direction and Sylvain gave her an over the top wave and a thumbs up. He didn’t understand how the point system worked but it seemed like Garreg Mach was winning so that meant Bernadetta was doing well right?

She gave him a small nod back before focusing back on the matter at hand.

Sylvain sighed and slumped slightly in his seat. He knew it was his fault but it still bummed him out. Ever since he accidently sent _that_ pic to Bernie, her responses to his texts had been short and sweet. She had been using periods at the end of her sentences for crying out loud! It didn’t take much for Sylvain to surmise that Ingrid had probably informed Bernadetta of what the picture had been.

He had tried to patch it up later with a few texts telling her it was one hundred percent an accident and he didn’t mean it at all but he knew that this kind of stuff was super damaging, especially if sent to a girl that didn’t ask for it. Well at least Bernie was still talking to him but at the same time it wasn’t the fun, happy, go lucky conversation they had before. How in the world was he going to fix this…

Maybe with another one of those rare _Loog_ books? However he didn’t know if she owned any of the other ones and he really did not want to buy her a duplicate. Some writing related thing? A fancy pen? Did she even write with a pen or did she only type up her works? Gah! He had known her for months and he didn’t know what to get her? What kind of friend was he!?

His thoughts spun in circles as the competition carried on. Between Bernadetta and Claude, Garreg Mach won with plenty of points to spare.

Sylvain got up from his seat and hurried down to the floor as the teams were walking to the locker rooms. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Claude hurrying over to talk with Byleth. Well that was weird, he didn’t know Claude talked with the TA outside of class. Although she wasn’t the TA for Professor Hanneman’s class anymore.

Wait, why did any of that matter?

“Bernie! Hang on a moment!”

The girl in question was halfway across the field and she turned to him as he hurried over. “Oh, hi Sylvain,” she squeaked, clutching her bow.

Sylvain plastered on a bright smile. “You were so cool today Bernie! I knew you were a super good archer but you’re _really_ good!”

“Thank you so much,” she whispered.

Sylvain dropped his voice to a whisper. “I know I wrote it in a message but I’m _really_ sorry about what happened Bernie. I didn’t mean to do it on purpose and I’m glad I was able to catch you in time. If you talk to Ingrid, I’m sure she’ll tell you that I’ve done it to her too. Completely on accident. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again in the future.”

“Okay,” she murmured, looking at the ground.

Sylvain winced. “No, I really, really mean it. Never again. Our friendship is worth so much more than stuff like that!”

Bernadetta looked up and gave him a small smile. “I get it. It’s okay Sylvain, I know you didn’t mean it.” After a moment of silence, she glanced back to the locker room. “I should probably get going. Coach Shamir likes to have a meeting after competitions to debrief and stuff.”

“Oh, right I shouldn’t keep you.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“But if you aren’t busy tomorrow, I need to go to the mall. A game I want came out-”

“Sure, I’ll come with. We can take my car. Oh, and the mall has this really cute crepe shop on the first floor. Have you been there? It’s tucked in a corner and not many people seem to know about it.” It was so out of the way that Sylvain had gotten handsy with girls a few times there but Bernadetta didn’t need to know that. She probably already thought lowly of him.

“We can go there too.” Her smile was much wider this time and happier, more in line with the girl Sylvain knew.

“Great! Eleven good? Ack, we can talk later, online, you should probably get going. I’ll see you later Bernie.”

***

Originally Bernadetta was planning on going to the mall by herself but Sylvain had looked so sad and dejected that she couldn’t help but invite him to come along. She knew he was nervous and upset because of what had happened earlier in the week. Based on the desperate sounding messages and increase in meme material, he was definitely feeling horrible about what happened. Well, he was partly like that because of her. It was just weird to think about and acting normal after something like that, even if she didn’t see anything!

Maybe that was the real reason she invited him along, they could try to go back to the friendship they had before. Hopefully. Bernadetta really wished she could see her therapist before this but alas their session was next Thursday. She was just going to have to manage it on her own and remember her therapist’s words.

“Your brain is hitting the panic switch more than it needs to,” she murmured.

“What was that Bernie?”

She looked up at Sylvain and shook her head. “Nothing, just reminding myself of stuff. Uh, it’s on the second floor.” She gestured to the nearby escalator. Since it was the weekend, the mall was jam packed. Thankfully not as much as it would be yesterday but there was still a lot of people, including high schoolers and people from the college division. She never really understood how people could spend all day in a mall going window shopping. She was more of the get in, get out sort of person.

Sylvain nodded. “Lead the way Bernie. What kind of game are you buying anyway?”

“Tokyo Mirage Session. Actually, Chrom is in it.”

Sylvain’s eyes widen. “Wait what?”

“It’s a crossover between two series. Chrom looks super edgy.” Bernadetta took out her phone and pulled up a picture and showed him.

Sylvain took her phone and stared at the picture in disbelief. “Wait…what? Is this canon? How? Does Robin know about this!?”

She giggled and took her phone back. “It’s an alternative world thing. It might take a while to explain since I assume you know nothing about SMT?”

“Are you just stringing letters together?”

“Nope! It’s another series. It’s a crossover work.”

“A crossover huh?” Sylvain seemed to think it over. “Oh wait, is this going to play a role in _A Long Lasting Dream_?!”

“Probably not. I just wanted to buy it.” She made a face as they reached the game store. The store itself was on the smaller side and it was packed with people. Children convincing their parents to buy games for them, young adults and teens hanging around browsing and looking at the merchandise wall.

“You want me to buy it for you?” asked Sylvain.

“No…I…I got it.”

“Alright, I’ll wait for you out here then. You can do it Bernie!” He gave her a thumbs up.

She had to giggle and gave him a thumbs up in return as she headed into the shop. Since she had it on preorder all she had to do was navigate the crowd and get on line for checkout. Thankfully that went by quickly and she got up to the front with no problem.

“Hi, I’m here to pick up _Tokyo Mirage Session_ ,” she murmured. “I have it on preorder.”

The transaction was thankfully smooth and quick and she walked out with the game in hand. Her shoulders slumped as she left the store, it was way too crowded and loud in there. After taking a few deep breaths to try to return herself to baseline she looked around for Sylvain.

It took her a couple seconds but she spotted him nearby, chatting to a girl, his flirty demeanor on in full swing. Like always it was fascinating to watch Sylvain when he was like this. Everything about him was different, from the way he held himself to his expressions. It was kind of like he was two different people-

Oh wait, that would be a cool story idea!

She pulled a small notebook out of her purse and quickly jotted it down. Probably for something original, this wouldn’t work for any of her current ships and fandoms. Although maybe she could figure something out…. Hmmm, it would probably be best not to, _A Long Lasting Dream_ was already keeping her busy, especially since it was reaching the end.

She put the notebook away and wasn’t sure what to do next. Sylvain seemed to be really into his conversation with that girl. For a moment she had to wonder if this was the girl Sylvain was trying to send _that_ picture to. Did girls even like that stuff? Hmm, maybe she should incorporate something like that in a future work?

Bernadetta edged closer, not really sure of where to go. Would it be rude to just go up to them? Or maybe she should wait here? Oh, why did she ask her therapist what to do in situations like this!?

Sylvain looked in her direction and did a double take. He looked down at the girl and said something before hurrying over to her. “Sorry, sorry! Were you waiting long Bernie? Did you get the game?”

She pulled the game box out of the bag to show him.

“Cool! Wait, the characters look so modern!”

“The story takes place in modern times.” Glancing behind Sylvain, she noticed the girl was watching them with an expression of confusion. “Uh, is everything okay with your…” How in the world was she supposed to put this? “…friend?” she said finally.

“Huh? Yeah, everything’s fine.” Sylvain rolled his eyes. “Sometimes they just get so clingy afterwards.” He paused and winced. “Sorry, sorry Bernie, didn’t mean to make it come out like that.”

“It…it’s okay,” she said quickly. “I…I get what you mean.”

“Oh, okay…cool.” Sylvain rubbed the back of his neck. “Let’s go get crepes?”

She nodded. “Yeah, let’s do that.” As she followed Sylvain down the escalator to the first floor, she added quietly, “You don’t have to try and like, hide that stuff from me. I know that you do those kinds of things.” From what she was able to gather in her conversations with Ingrid, Sylvain was typically very open about this kind of stuff. It was sweet of him to try and tone it down for her but at the same time it was kind of annoying that he thought of her as more innocent than what she was. Sure she had no real life experience but her fanfiction reading history told another story entirely.

“Okay, I just didn’t want you to feel so weird about it.”

“It’s okay, really. Just…I don’t really want the details though.”

“Understandable. It’s right over there!” Sylvain pointed out the crepe shop. He had been right about it being out of the way. This area of the mall was almost devoid of people except for a few stragglers. How this little shop stayed in business, Bernadetta had no idea. A few tables were set up outside the shop and a couple people were eating crepes.

“I know it looks weird but their crepes are super good! Do you have a preference? My treat.”

“Sylvain, you don’t have to!”

“I want to, it’s okay. Let me make it up to you for…you know.”

“Okay…”

“Cool! Anyway, you can go sit, I’ll get the crepes. Any flavor fine?”

Bernadetta nodded and sat down at the table farthest from the other occupied ones. Not really knowing what else to do while waiting for the crepes, she took out her phone, ready to just look around the internet while she waited.

“Excuse me,” said a rough, gravely voice.

She let out a small yelp and looked up to see a man towering over her. His red hair was messy and unkept, a long scar trailing across his face. His clothes seemed old and worn. “Uh…hello,” she stammered.

He held out an envelope. “Do you mind giving this to that friend of yours?”

She looked down at the envelope and saw Sylvain’s name on it. She looked up at him in confusion. “But…”

“He won’t take it from me. We don’t have a…let’s say positive relationship.” He dropped the envelope on the table before Bernadetta could say anymore and walked away quickly. What in the world was that?

She picked up the envelope turned it over. It wasn’t sealed and there seemed to be a letter inside. For a moment she debated on looking at it but thought against it. Whoever that person was, they obviously knew Sylvain.

“Sorry for the wait Bernie!” Sylvain hurried over with a tray with two crepes. Two ridiculous crepes with countless amounts of syrups, sauces and candy sticking out of it. The amount of sugar that was probably in it was already making her teeth ache.

“Those are…uh…” Bernadetta tried to think of an adjective to describe what she was seeing but wasn’t really able to come up with anything.

“I know, they’re crazy! And pretty cheap too for the price!” He sat down and gestured to the envelope on the table. “What’s that?”

“Oh, someone came up to me and told me to give it to you.” She held it out to him.

“Really? It’s not a girl right?” He frowned as he took in how his name was written on the front and he turned it around and pulled out the letter that was inside.

“No, some guy with red hair and a scar across his face. He looked kind of scary…” Bernadetta trailed off as she noticed how Sylvain’s face darkened as he read the letter. “Sylvain?”

“Huh? Sorry.” He shoved the letter in his pocket.

“Is everything okay?”

“Everything is fine!”

Bernadetta frowned. Sylvain’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. It was more like the plastered, fake smile he put on for those girls he hung out with.

“Try the crepe Bernie! I want to see how much you like it.”

It didn’t feel right to just let it go but she knew there were things that one didn’t want others to know. Perhaps they were not close enough friends for him to tell her what was going on. That had to be it, not because she wasn’t trustworthy or good enough or because she was stupid-

She shook her head to try to clear those bad ruminating thoughts away and took a bite out of the crepe. “It’s…not as sweet?”

“I know right! It’s so weird how despite everything they put on it, they manage to make it not teeth rotting sweet!” Sylvain’s voice had a fake hollow ring to it that kept up for the rest of the afternoon. Even when he was driving them home, his usual banter sounded off to Bernadetta’s ears. She didn’t want to push it though since he seemed so unwilling to tell her.

“Do you need to me to walk you back to your dorm?” he offered once they pulled up to the college,

Bernadetta shook her head. “No, it’s fine.” She opened her door and got out. Before she shut it, she looked at him. “Uhh, if you want, you can come over next weekend to play _Tokyo Mirage Session_. I played the original version so it shouldn’t take me too long to get far in the game so it’ll be interesting.”

“Sounds good Bernie!” He gave her a thumbs up. “We’ll chat to figure out the details later?”

Bernadetta nodded. “Sounds good.”

As she watched him drive to the parking lot, she shook her head and headed for her room, game in hand. Maybe it was something he just needed to take care of and by next weekend Sylvain would be back to normal.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter begins the Miklan arc. As a heads up, trigger warning for mentions of sibling physical abuse for a good portion of this arc(along with trauma based responses).

Sylvain laid on his bed and stared up at his ceiling. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. The letter was crumpled in his hand, the words on it memorized from reading it over and over again.

_Hello little brother. Glad to see you’re still being a goody two shoe like always. I’m going to need a bit of money from you and if you could get me some, especially from daddy-dearest, that would be swell. Oh and don’t think you can just ignore this message, I know where you go to school, little brother._

A number was under it, a different one than Miklan’s old number. Sylvain had that blocked two years ago. Why was his older brother here!? Last Sylvain heard, Miklan was causing trouble on the other side of the country. Did he come here because he knew Sylvain was going to school here?

Sylvain grimanced. Of course Miklan knew Sylvain was attending Garreg Mach. It was tradition for the Gautier family to send their kids here.

It was bad enough that Miklan had found Sylvain, what was worse was that he had given the letter to Bernie to give to him. Was Miklan waiting in the mall for Sylvain to show up? How long was he in town?

Damn it.

What in the world was he supposed to do? Based on his childhood there was no way Miklan was going to let this go. It might be best to just give him the money and get it over with.

He sat up and ran his fingers through his hair before putting the number into his phone and texting his brother. How much and where did they want to meet. Getting this over as soon as possible would be for the better and he was willing to skip class to make sure it was done and everything could go back to normal.

A knock on the door.

Glancing at the time, he cursed. Already dinner time? Felix was waiting outside to head down. Sylvain jumped off his bed and checked his reflection in his mirror, taking the extra minute to school his expression to its usual playful smirk before heading out.

***

“I’m shocked that a goody twoshoe like you would miss class over something like this,” chuckled Miklan.

Sylvain stuffed his hands in his pockets and glanced around the parking lot of the grocery store. Mlklan had picked this location to meet up, which Sylvain was okay with since it was on the other end of town. The chance of anyone from Garreg Mach seeing him here was slim at best and even moreso since technically he was supposed to be in one of his classes right now.

“Let’s just get this done and over with Miklan.” He pulled out the envelope of cash and held it out. “Take it and go.”

Miklan took the envelope, and opened it. With a smile, he began looking through the bills on the inside. “This is why you’re _such_ a good younger brother.”

Sylvain gritted his teeth, hating how his heart rate sped up and his thoughts ran back to times when he was a child. Miklan said that kind of stuff all the time before punching or kicking Sylvain. “We’re done here right?”

“But little brother, I’ll be in town for a good while yet, and I’m going to be relying on your help for a little while longer.”

Sylvain narrowed his eyes.

Miklan chuckled. “Oh, don’t look at me like that Sylvain. We’re brothers after all and I know you would _never_ abandon family.”

“You messed up Miklan. I gave you the money so just leave.” Sylvain curled his hands into fists, hating how despite the fact it had been two years since he saw Miklan, he was still frightened of his older brother.

“A minor setback.” Seemingly satisfied by the money, Miklan put into his pocket. “I have to say though, I wasn’t expecting you to be into girls like that. Your taste has evolved a bit since I last saw you.”

Sylvain’s eyes narrowed and he took a threatening step forward. “Keep away from Bernie,” he growled.

“Bernie? You know her name?”

Sylvain inwardly cursed. He should have just made her seem like one of his flings. Sylvain the flirt didn’t care about girls, he only cared about sleeping with them. However, just thinking about Miklan getting his grubby hands on sweet, innocent Bernie set Sylvain on edge.

“Interesting.” Miklan chuckled.

Sylvain glared at him. “Don’t you get any ideas Miklan.”

Miklan chuckled. “I wouldn’t even _dream_ of it. Now run along, good little boys go to their classes don’t they? I’ll call you if I need more.”

Sylvain didn’t move from his spot as he watched Miklan get into an old sedan and drive off.

Once Miklan was out of sight, Sylvain walked back to his car. Once he was inside, he smacked his fists on the steering wheel, every curse he could think of coming out of his mouth. Damn it, why did Miklan have to show up now and why did it have to be when Sylvain was hanging out with Bernie!? He thought he was finally getting everything together and then this had to happen!

There was no way he was going to be able to go to school and function in class for the rest of the day. He pulled out his phone and went into his contacts, looking for one of the girls listed in his contacts with a “plus” on the end of their names. What he needed right now was something physical to take his mind off of what happened.

***

Bernadetta was halfway through writing the next chapter of _A Long Lasting Dream_ when the thought suddenly hit her. Sylvain was going to be in her room in three days. She looked around at her assortment of stuffed animals, craft projects and plants along her windowsill. When was the last time she dusted!? Should she clean the floors!? What did people do when they had friends over?

Panic flooded her. What in the world was she doing? This was no time to be writing fanfiction. She needed to prepare. Should she buy snacks? Would Sylvain bring snacks? Her fridge was stocked with a few things but probably nothing Sylvain liked. Hang on, what did he like snack wise? How did she not know this!

“You’re such a terrible friend Bernie,” she mumbled. Maybe she could ask Ingrid about it and get some. As she took out her phone she paused. Wait, was she supposed to buy things or was Sylvain going to bring it? What about drinks? Should she get tea? Coffee? Something else entirely. Wait, did Sylvain drink alcohol? Based on the pictures on his profile, he did but maybe he only drank when he was hanging around those girls. She didn’t drink alcohol herself and didn’t know what kind Sylvain liked. That was another thing to ask Ingrid.

She closed her laptop and dug out her collection of cleaning supplies from under the bed and got to work on removing all traces of dust from her room. As she straightened her stuffed animals, it really hit her that she was going to have a _boy_ in her room.

She dropped a teddy bear and let out a panicked squeal. A boy! She was going to have a boy in her room! Her! Bernadetta Varley who was terrible at social interaction was going to have a boy in her room! And now just any boy but Sylvain! What if he thought her stuff was lame!? Should she hide her stuffed animal collection?

No, he knew she liked that kind of stuff and she had sent him a few pictures of her sewing projects. Ugh. Why did she have to offer him to come over to play TMS!? Sure, she thought it would be cool to show him that she was actually good at something besides writing and give him a better context to the world her stories took place in since he didn’t seem to play video games himself but him, in her room!?

“Calm down Bernie, deep breathes.” She took a few slow, deep breathes and quickly turned on her song playlist specially made for combating panic attacks. After a few tracks, she finally felt comfortable enough to turn off the music and focus on the task at hand. She also had a therapy appointment tomorrow which was honestly perfect timing. This was definitely something to talk to her therapist about.

For now, she might as well clear out the dust bunnies and vacuum the rug.


	15. Chapter 15

Sylvain yawned and slapped himself lightly on the cheeks. Focus Sylvain! Today was the big day, he was going to spend the day playing video games with Bernie! Well, after a quick trip to the student center to get some coffee. Last night was an intense one, the girl having a drive that almost matched his own. Which was great and all until Sylvain realized if he didn’t get any sleep, he was going to fall asleep on Bernie.

There was no way in hell he was going to fall asleep on her and risk her thinking he was bored, especially since they had just recovered from the picture disaster. She seemed fine in their messages, but reading in between the lines and punctuation(and a comment from Ingrid), she was incredibly nervous about today. Well, Sylvain was going to make sure she had a fun time and just the thought of seeing the room where Bernie created the stories he loved was exciting in and of itself.

He downed the coffee as he headed for the dorms. After a quick check of social media and the group chats, he set his phone on silent and shoved it in his pocket. His friends were aware he was spending the day with Bernie and if any of his girls contacted him, well they weren’t important right now.

He dropped the now empty cup in the trashcan before walking into her dorm building and heading up to the fifth floor by the elevator. This was one of the older buildings on campus, the carpet slightly faded, the paint on the walls dull. It would probably get a fresh coat of paint and a touch up over the summer. Nothing at Garreg Mach stayed dull and drab for long.

Stopping in front of her door, he took a deep breath to calm his own nerves. This was probably the first time(besides visiting Ingrid) that he would be in a girl’s room without having the motive to get in bed with her.

After taking another deep breath, he knocked on her door.

A moment later, Bernie opened it. “Hi Sylvain,” she squeaked.

Oh boy, just based on how much she was fidgeting, it was obvious she was nervous about this too. Should he just offer to cancel? No, she probably wouldn’t take that well either. He put on his easy-going smile. “Hey Bernie, hope I’m not too late.”

“No, it’s fine.” She shifted to the side to let him in.

Stepping into her room, he saw it was incredibly cute. Her various art projects, stuffed animals and plants lined the top of her desk, dresser and even the windowsill. Her bed had a colorful quilt on top of it and he bet it was something that she probably made. He noticed the Loog book he bought her was sitting on her dresser in a glass case. Oh crap, he didn’t think of that. It was a rare book so exposing it to the elements probably wasn’t good. Damn it Sylvain, he should have realized that was the case so she didn’t have to buy a case for it.

The floor was covered in a fluffy rug and he kicked off his shoes even though she protested that it was alright. Bernadetta was barefoot, her shoes lined up nicely near the door. He was coming into her space, the least he could do was follow her rules of the room.

“So, let’s do this! I want to see how edgy Chrom came to be!” He grabbed her desk chair and swiveled it around so he could see the TV mounted in the wall. He glanced at her desk and had to invoke every fiber of his being to resist getting too excited. This was probably where Bernie wrote all of her stories! Her laptop was sitting there and he was wondering if there was a half-finished draft of the next chapter on there. She also had a few post-it notes hung up as well and he had to turn away as he noticed one was for _A Long Lasting Dream_. There was no way he was going to be spoiled for the next chapter!

“Okay. Uh, I have snacks and stuff under the desk. And some drinks in the fridge.” She turned her switch on and grabbed a controller before hopping onto her bed and booting up the game.

***

This wasn’t as bad as Bernie thought it would be.

Her therapist had said the same thing when she had brought up in her session. Based on how Sylvain treated her, the chance of him acting up was slim and Ingrid had agreed with that statement. Despite not playing video games that often, she gave him the controller for a bit and had to direct him on what to do and when to do it. In the back of her mind she wondered how Sylvain would manage a real-time game. He was already incredibly flustered making choices in a turn-based game.

While she played, they also chatted. Nothing of real substance, just about classes, the funny things their friends did and they even talked about _A Long Lasting Dream_. Sylvain had been shocked to find out that the next chapter would be the last one.

“I wasn’t expecting it to end so soon.” He shook his head. “Look out Bernie! That monster is going to run into you-oh well.”

“It’s fine, the experience is good. Being overleveled in this game I mean.” Bernadetta quickly put in the commands for the round. “Well, the last chapter is going to be a long one.” She had finished most of the first draft over the past couple of days. Just the epilogue needed to be completed but it wouldn’t take her long at all.

Sylvain leaned back and rested his hands on the plush carpet. Before long, they had migrated to sitting on the carpet. It made it easier to share the bags of chips and other foods this way and pass the controller back and forth. “It’s still kind of sad, I’m really going to miss Robin and Chrom but I get it. Are you planning on writing anything else for them?”

“Maybe a couple one-shots. I have another idea that is going to take a bit of time.”

“Oh? Do tell! And nice, Tsubasa leveled up!” 

Bernadetta nodded and pulled up the map. This dungeon was a pain in the butt the first time she played through it and having to play it again was reminding her of how much she hated it. Especially the boss. She was definitely going to spend the time grinding out some levels.

“Well, the one-shot ideas will be quick, AUs and whatnot. I have an original project I want to work on…”

“An original project!?” Sylvain’s eyes widen. “You also write original stuff?”

“Sometimes,” she stammered.

“You’re so talented Bernie! Wow, creating works based on something already existing is hard but also making stuff all of your own, that’s super cool Bernie! If you don’t mind me asking, what about?”

“I’m not too sure yet,” she stammered. “It’s still a plot bunny more or less but it’ll be about a margrave boy at a high end academy to teach him how to be a good knight and his relationship with a reclusive count girl that never leaves her room.”

“Oh, a love story!”

“I’m not sure on that yet but I think it’ll be a nice story. It’s going to have a lot of drama and action.”

“I can’t wait to read it then! I mean, if you’ll let me read it. No pressure though.”

“I’ll let you read it when I’m done,” she stammered. Well, she was aiming to have it done by Sylvain’s birthday. It was funny that when she started drafting, so many ideas came to her. The final scene was going to be super intense and she was nervous about getting it written right. Especially since the girl would be stuck in the middle of a burning hill and the boy would need to save her on horseback. There was definitely a lot of research to be done.

“Well I can’t wait to read it then!” Sylvain looked up at the clock. “Oh man, that late already?”

She glanced over and surprised to see it was already close to six. It felt like no time at all had passed since he had arrived earlier today.

“You planning on getting dinner in the student center?”

She shook her head. “No, I have some food in my fridge.”

Sylvain frowned. “Bernie, you need to eat better than processed food all the time.”

“I know,” she said quickly. “But uh, it’s fine.” How was she supposed to explain that her social battery was super low. Sure the day had been great but she had been panicking before he arrived. There was no way she could manage the student center crowds anytime soon.

“If you say so Bernie. But that was fun and we should do something like this again at some point. Seriously, this game is ridiculous. I need to know what happens next.”

“I had fun too.” She thought for a moment and added, “Well, I can save it for the next time you come over.”

“Bernie, you don’t have to…”

“I’ve played this game before, this is the updated re-release so I know what happens. It’s uh, fun seeing your reactions to stuff.” She looked down and flexed her toes into the fluffy carpet. That was a stupid idea and she knew it.

“Sure, I’m up for that.”

She looked up in surprise. “Really?” she squealed.

“Yeah, let’s do it.” Sylvain walked to the door and pulled out his phone. His expression darkened.

“Sylvain?”

He looked up at her with a bright smile. “Sorry, just thought I read something weird. I’ll see you later Bernie.”

“See you later.” As the door shut, Bernadetta couldn’t help but wonder about Sylvain’s smile. It was incredibly fake, the one he used for the girls he hung out with. She hoped everything was okay. Although maybe it wasn’t any of her business. They hadn’t known each other for long after all and there was a bunch of things she had not told him, especially about her father. Whatever it was, Sylvain would be able to handle it…right?


	16. Chapter 16

“Sylvain, we need to talk.”

Sylvain looked up at Ingrid, who stared down at him with her hands on her hips. Next to her, stood Felix, arms crossed. “About?” he asked. He decided to eat lunch in the small lounge area(today was a burger) and get some work done. He was not expecting Ingrid and Felix to approach him like it was an intervention. Oh wait.

He looked around but Dimitri was nowhere in sight.

“Dimitri would have come but he’s busy,” said Felix. He grabbed a chair and sat across from Sylvain while Ingrid took the chair to Sylvain’s right.

“Uh…okay then…” Sylvain put down his burger and wiped his hands. “Can we make this quick? I have class in an hour and I really want to get this done.”

Ingrid leaned forward. “Why are you sleeping with girls every night?”

Sylvain looked at Ingrid flabbergasted. “Excuse me?”

“You heard her. What’s going on? You are never this extreme unless something is bothering you,” commented Felix. “You haven’t been sleeping in your dorm room in almost two weeks.”

“Why are you keeping tabs on me?” Sylvain looked at Felix in disbelief.

“I’ve lost days of sleep because of you.” Felix glared at him.

“We’re worried about you Sylvain. What’s going on?” Ingrid gave him a once-over in concern.

Well that was a loaded question wasn’t it? Miklan was sending him texts and asking for money and the sudden resurgence of his brother was bringing up a lot of feelings and emotions he didn’t want to deal with. The only way he was able to handle it was not thinking about it and although it was much easier in the daytime, at night, when he was in his dorm room alone, those thoughts and memories would swirl in and around itself over and over again. The only way he was able to manage it was spending time with his girls. They were happy to oblige and it was quite easy to shut them up if they tried to talk to him about feelings and whatnot.

Sylvain put on his easy-going smile. “Nothing’s going on. A guy’s gotta get it out right?”

“Sylvain…that’s not…” Ingrid’s look of concern was reminding him of the times when they were children. When he would show up to their playdates with bruises and bumps caused by Miklan but he would lie and say he fell or he was play fighting a little too rough with his brother. It was her, “I don’t think you are telling the truth but I can’t figure out what you are lying about” face.

“I really don’t get what you two are worried about, I’m just me.” He rolled his eyes.

Felix’s hands curled into fists. “Damn it, for once just tell us what’s going on, we’re your friends.”

“Like I said, nothing is going on, you’re just over reacting,” Sylvain replied patiently.

“BS.” Felix glared at him.

Sylvain replied by eating one of his fries. “You guys are seriously overreacting. Everything is fine, I’m just having a little more fun than usual.”

“Sylvain, you-”

“Stop Felix, I don’t think we’re going to get anywhere with this.” Ingrid’s shoulders slumped as she stood. Felix cursed as he followed her lead. “We’ll leave you alone for now but remember this Sylvain, we’re your friends and we _know_ something in is going on. Let us hold some of the burden okay?”

“If something is going on, I’ll do that.”

For a moment Sylvain thought she was going to slap him, but she turned and walked away in a huff. Felix gave him one final glare before following her. As soon as they were out of sight, he sighed and looked down at his half-eaten burger. He was going to need to figure out what to do about this sooner or later. There was no way he was going to keep giving Miklan money like this and with Ingrid’s level of snooping, she will figure it out before long.

He looked away from his burger in disgust and pulled out his phone to find another contact. The first thing he noticed was a message from Bernadetta, a response to the last weird statue he had found in campus.

_“I didn’t know we have a statue of a fish on campus! That’s so cool! Look at this weird double helix I found behind the science building!”_

He had to smile at the awkward angle she took it at. Obviously she was trying to get the whole statue in one pic. He felt bad because she had invited him to have another video game day but he spent the past two weekends with his girls. Once this Miklan thing was figured out, then everything would go back to normal, yeah, that’s what he believed.

***

Bernadetta was in the middle of working on her paper for her medieval literature class when she heard a knock on the door of the library study room. She looked up and saw Ingrid on the other side of the glass door. Ingrid gave her a small wave before entering.

“You have a cute little nook here,” commented Ingrid as she took in the space.

Bernadetta nodded. “Sometimes I don’t want to work on stuff in my room so I come here. It’s really quiet when it’s not during finals or midterms.”

“Makes sense.” Ingrid grimaced and took the chair across from Bernadetta. “Sorry to bother you but I’m glad you were willing to meet up on short notice.”

“Well I was here…” Bernadetta was also wondering what it was about. Ingrid had sent Bernadetta a message asking if she was free and that it was important. Of course that set off Bernadetta’s anxiety tenfold and she offered to meet up with Ingrid right away just to get it done and over it.

Ingrid pushed a few strands of hair behind an ear and leaned forward. “Have you been talking to Sylvain?”

“Through text.”

“Not in person then?”

“He said he was super busy recently. Classes and stuff.” Bernadetta was sad she didn’t get to play farther in TMS but she didn’t want to play without Sylvain. Well, at least it meant she could use her free time to work on her perfect Awakening run.

“How did he sound over texts?”

Bernadetta shook her head. “He sounds…off.” Sure he was answering her but there were sometimes incredibly long breaks between him answering her and some of his responses were short and concise. He also wasn’t sending as many memes as he had been in the past.

Ingrid sighed. “Sounds like he’s doing the same to you as he is to us.”

“He’s what?” Bernadetta’s eyes widen. “Is he okay?”

“We’re-and I mean me, Felix and Dimitri, aren’t sure. We think there’s something going on with him that he’s not telling us and we’re honestly worried about him. He’s a skirt chaser and we know that but he’s at extreme levels right now, I don’t think he’s ever in his room and whenever he is, he always has a girl with him. Usually he only gets like this when something is really bothering him.”

Bernadetta looked down at her hands. What kind of friend was she that she didn’t know something like that?

“Anyway, I didn’t want to talk to you about this to make you feel bad, I was wondering if you could possibly talk to him?”

“Me?” she squeaked.

“Felix and I tried but he wasn’t willing to talk about it with us. Maybe he’ll talk about it with you?”

“What? Why would he?” she stammered.

Ingrid looked at her in disbelief. “Seriously Bernie? He trusts you a lot.”

“He does!?” She didn’t realize her voice could go so high.

Ingrid let out a long sigh. “He does. It’s obvious he cares about your opinion. So as his childhood friend, I’m hoping you could maybe talk to him about it? See if he opens up to you?”

Bernadetta wanted to protest that she couldn’t do anything like that but now she was starting to worry about him. And she was well aware of how having a person to talk to could really help make a situation not as scary. “I…I can try,” she relented.

Ingrid sighed. “Thanks so much Bernie. I know you’ll be able to get something out of him.”

Bernadetta really hoped she could live up to Ingrid’s expectation of her.


	17. Chapter 17

Bernadetta stood outside Sylvain’s dorm room on a Saturday morning, wondering why the heck she was out here. Well, technically, she did know why. Despite her inviting him to hang out in her room to play video games this weekend, Sylvain had refused, citing homework as an excuse. Since Felix was in almost all of the same classes, he called BS on Sylvain’s sudden interest in homework. Also, to further Bernadetta’s worry, over the course of the week, Sylvain responded less and less to her to the point it had almost been twenty-four hours since his last text to her. Last night, Felix had noticed Sylvain going into his room and told Bernadetta to try to catch him in the morning to have a talk.

It was weird enough to know where Sylvain’s dorm room was without him knowing that she knew and it was even weirder to be visiting him to demand to know what was going on. Well, she was worried about him and so were the rest of his friends. She had a feeling that if she couldn’t get anything out of him, it would be a lost cause. No pressure right?

Gulping, she clasped her hands together to stop them from shaking. Since it was a Saturday the hall was quiet and she hoped the other people on this floor were out and not sleeping in their rooms. It was so embarrassing to be standing out here, especially since it was a boys-only floor. At least she knew Felix had the room just down the hall. He said if anything went wrong, to just knock on his door. Despite how his face looked, Felix seemed to be a nice guy…

She needed to stop stalling.

With an audible gulp, she lifted a shaky hand and knocked a few times.

After a couple seconds, she heard some rustling from inside. The door opened and a girl in skimpy lingerie opened it. She looked down at Bernadetta in distain as she leaned against the door. “Yes?”

“Oh, uh, I’m here to see Sylvain,” she murmured. Crap. This was probably not a good time at all.

“You? See Sylvain?”

The once-over the girl gave Bernadetta made her want to crawl into a ball and not come out for a week. However they were counting on her! And she was worried about him too. She nodded. “Yes, I’m here to see him.”

The girl laughed. “Seriously, what-”

“Bernie?” Sylvain poked his head out and looked at her in disbelief. Even from the limited view she had, it was quite clear he wasn’t wearing a shirt and he had tell-tale hickeys on his neck.

“Hi,” she mumbled, dropping her eyes to the floor. Well, this was super awkward. “Uh…I was hoping…we…could talk…”

“Give me a few minutes.”

She looked up in surprise, not expecting him to agree so easily. “Oh, uh, sure.”

He gave her a small smile before shutting the door. Even from her spot in the hallway, she could hear the girl’s raised voice and Sylvain’s low murmur. After a minute, the girl stormed out, now fully dressed and slammed the door shut behind her.

“I’m uh, I just want to talk to him? We’re not…we’re not like that,” stammered Bernadetta.

That did nothing to abate the girl’s glare as she stormed to the elevator.

Bernadetta shuffled in place, not really sure what to do with herself. The girl had soured her mood and she wondered if this was even a good idea. Should she just bail? No, Sylvain was expecting her to be out here when he opened the door. He would probably be sad and disappointed if she left.

After a couple more awkward minutes, Sylvain(thankfully now full dressed), opened the door. “Sorry for the wait Bernie, just wanted to tidy a bit.” He paused. “Unless you wanted to go out?”

“No, this is fine. It might be easier to just talk in your room…”

Sylvain nodded and stepped to the side.

As Bernadetta stepped into the room, she realized this was her first time in a _boy’s_ dorm room. Her internal screaming was back in full swing as she shuffled into his space. It was surprisingly neat, and tidy nothing like the boys room she saw on the TV shows. All of his books were neatly lined up on his desk, the laundry put away. The only thing that didn’t really fit the feel of the room was the bed with its rumpled sheets and Bernadetta had to avert her eyes before she really started thinking about the reason the bed was probably like that. Well that and the large box of condoms half-peeking out from under the bed.

“Is it too cold? Should I close the window?” He pulled out his desk chair and offered it to her.

She shook her head. “I’m okay for now.” She didn’t even realize the window was open until he said it. It was a warm spring day, the breeze a bit welcoming and she hoped it would help her not overheat from panic. At least sitting there was a greater chance to make it through this conversation without freaking out.

“I don’t think I have any snacks or drinks…” Sylvain looked around the room, seemingly a little lost in his own space.

“It’s okay…” She set her hands in her lap and really hoped her pounding heart would not lead into a panic attack. She was terrible with these kinds of conversations. “Uh, she seems…nice?”

Sylvain rolled his eyes. “Not really. I mean, she’s good at…” He stopped. “At uh, you know. Can’t complain about that,” he finished.

“Uh yeah, I thought so.” Bernadetta gulped.

Sylvain leaned against his dresser. “So? Let me guess…did Ingrid put you up to this?”

She winced. “Uh, well…”

He let out a long annoyed sigh and rubbed the back of his neck. “Damn it Ingrid, I’m fine, she’s just over-reacting.”

Bernadetta shook her head. “I don’t think you are Sylvain. You are even acting a bit…weird around me too. Your texts aren’t the same…”

Sylvain’s long sigh and ‘tsk’ sound made her wince. “I’m fine, I don’t get why all of you are getting on my case about this.”

He sounded so mad. Maybe they were wrong, maybe Sylvain was fine after all and they were making a big deal out of nothing. That was probably it. She didn’t know him well enough at all, maybe she just ruined his morning. Maybe he found her boring to be around now and this was his way of telling her to go away.

Her breathes were coming out in short, quick gasps, her heart pounding painfully in her ribcage, her hands trembling. She was warm, unnaturally so, her body heating up to the point she felt like she was on fire. The world seemed to spin in and of itself and suddenly everything seemed so unreal and out of place.

“Bernie! Hey Bernie! Are you okay? What’s wrong!?” Sylvain was suddenly in front of her, his eyes wide with panic. His hands were reaching towards her but stopped before he touched her.

“Panic attack,” she managed to get out in between her hyperventilated breathes. She quickly began using her grounding techniques to help calm herself down quicker. Since she didn’t bring her purse she didn’t have her kit so she began slowly counting the objects in his room, continuingly reminding herself that despite how long it felt, the panic attacks never lasted as long as it felt like it did, only a few minutes, tops.

Like always, it lasted for the span of five minutes, exhaustion taking over her muscles as the majority of the physical symptoms faded, but she had to work on getting her breathing back to normal and not have the tightness in her chest.

Sweat made strands of hair stick to her face as she pushed it away with shaky hands. She shivered as her body was sweating profusely to reduce the sudden increase in her internal temperature. She hated hot flashes and cold sweats so much.

It took her a moment to realize Sylvain was still hovering over her. “You…you okay?” he asked uncertainly.

She nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. I have them sometimes.” She shivered as a breeze came in through the window. Before it was nice but now it just made her colder.

Sylvain stood and walked over to the window and shut it. “You still cold?”

“A little but it’s okay, I just sometimes get a hot flash and a cold sweat afterwards. It happens. I’ll be okay soon.” She rubbed her arms, trying to get some warmth back in them.

He looked to his bed and grimaced before walking to the closet. After a bit of searching, he pulled out a sweatshirt and held it out to her. “Here. I recently washed it and haven’t worn it.”

“It’s okay,” she said quickly. “I’m sweating a lot right now, I’ll get it dirty.”

He shook his head. “It’s fine, take it Bernie, you’re still shivering.”

She wanted to protest further but he looked so upset that she ended up accepting it. He was much taller than her that she felt like she was swimming in it, her hands not reaching the end of the sleeves. “Thanks,” she mumbled.

“It’s no problem at all.” He sat down on the carpeted floor across from her. “Did you have the panic attack because of me?”

“No, no, that kind of happens every once in a while, it’s okay. My brain is just overreacting like it does. My therapist said it’s my brain clicking the panic switch when it doesn’t have to…” She trailed off as she realized she was rambling away.

“It doesn’t look it’s a fun experience.”

She shook her head. “Not at all but I’m used to it.”

Silence descended upon them and Bernadetta played with a hem of a sleeve. “Everyone is worried about you Sylvain,” she said softly.

Sylvain let out a long sigh, although this sounded defeated rather than annoyed. “My brother contacted me for the first time in two years.”

“Your brother?” Bernadetta couldn’t help the surprise in her voice. “I didn’t know you had a brother.”

“You met him. He was the one that gave you the letter to give to me in the mall.”

Oh. The guy with the scar. Now that Bernadetta thought back on it, they did have a similar shade of red hair. “I remember him.”

“He’s…well, Ingrid and the others are aware but he’s not a good guy. He got disowned from the family two years ago.”

“Disowned? What did he do? I mean, if you want to tell me,” she added quickly.

Sylvain shrugged. “It’s not really a big deal but he was getting involved in gangs and drugs. My parents found out when he came home one day, high as a kite, and well, they were livid. Originally it was supposed to be an empty threat but my brother never got better and turned his life around so he was disowned for real.”

“That’s…”

“Don’t feel sorry for him, he never was a good person.”

Bernadetta paused, the look Sylvain had in his eyes and the tone of his voice made it clear there was much more that he wasn’t telling. Maybe it was her jumping ahead a little but she had a feeling there was much more to this than a brother that made a mistake once or twice. “So, what is he asking of you right now?”

“Money. Lots of it. He’s been contacting me on the regular about it.”

“And you’ve been giving him the money?” That surprised her. It was obvious Sylvain wasn’t the type of person to do something he didn’t want to do, especially in a situation like this.

He smirked. “I know, stupid right. I know the more money I give him, the more he’s going to come back, he’s that kind of person.”

Bernadetta slipped off the chair and crawled over to Sylvain. Usually she would never do something like this but her panic attack had exhausted her and Sylvain looked so lost and alone that she couldn’t help but give him a hug. He stiffened and she wondered if she did the right thing but before she could pull back, he put his arms around her in a tight hug, his face buried in her shoulder.

After about a minute, Sylvain was the first to pull away. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

“It’s okay,” she said quickly. “I was the one that offered the hug…” She set her hands on her lap.

Sylvain ran his fingers through his hair. “My brother threatened to hurt you.”

“Huh?”

“I messed up and dropped your name when I met him the first time. He realized you were more important to me than, well, most of the girls I hang out with. And he…what’s that look for Bernie?”

“Oh, I just thought it was something more than that.”

“Huh?” Now it was his turn to stare at her in disbelief.

“I mean, I thought he had some deep dark secret on you and stuff. Not that he was threatening me.”

“Why are you not worried about this?”

“Sylvain…I’m a Varley…I can ask my mom to give me bodyguards and Garreg Mach is known to have really good security for these kinds of stuff. I mean logically him being able to do anything to me is slim at best.” Bernadetta realized her therapist would be so proud of her of listing the logical reasons and possible outcomes to something that would have caused her to catastrophize in the past.

Sylvain blinked slowly and then burst out laughing. “What…why didn’t I think of that? Holy crap, it really was an empty threat.”

“It’s okay Sylvain, sometimes when you get so caught up in your head, you can’t think logically.” As those words left her mouth, she began wondering if his increased time with the girls was the result of him trying to manage all these emotions.

“Apparently not.” He shook his head. “Seriously, I forgot you were a Varley.”

“It’s okay, sometimes I forget too.” She bit her lip. “Will you be able to say no to him though?”

Sylvain sighed. “That’s the question isn’t it? I would like to think so, but personally I tend to freeze up when I actually meet him.”

“Then maybe don’t? Just talk to him over text? Tell him you’re not going to give him money anymore.”

“Maybe…I don’t know how he will take that though…”

“Why does it matter how he’ll take it?”

He winced. “I guess it doesn’t matter but…” His expression darkened and Bernadetta could tell he was slipping into a memory.

She reached out and grasped his hand and gave it a small squeeze to bring him back to the present. “It will be fine Sylvain. And I think if you talk to Ingrid and the others, they can help too, they know what your brother is like right?”

“To a certain extent.” Sylvain chuckled without any warmth. “ Dimitri could probably destroy him with just his connections alone.”

“Why haven’t you told them then?”

“I’ve just never told them about him. What kind of person he was. I’m sure they suspected, especially Ingrid but I’ve never outright gave them details. They were aware of him being disowned though.” He shifted in place. “They were worried about me after that happened, always checking up on me. I wasn’t really in a good headspace myself back then and I kind of, I guess started doing stuff like this now, until well, I found something online that helped me get out of that mindset.”

“What was it?” Bernadetta tilted her head slightly.

He chuckled, reached over and ruffled her hair. “Your stories silly.”

“Huh?” She stared in disbelief. “What do you? What?”

“I was just scrolling through social media and I saw a post talking about your work and how it made them feel better when they felt sad. And well, I didn’t have much to do so I clicked on it and well, it all went downhill from there, well I guess uphill is the better way to put it.”

Bernadetta’s eyes widen. “My writing couldn’t do something like that.”

“It did Bernie. Your stories gave me what I needed. I loved reading every single one of them and when I was done, I just read them again until you posted more. So yeah, I owe a lot to you Bernie. You helped me out of that hole I had dug for myself so thank you.”

She blushed and looked away. “You…you’re welcome,” she stammered. She cringed as she remembered the stories she wrote back then. Her writing was not as refined, the word and grammar use atrocious.

“I hope this didn’t make things weird,” he frowned. “Cause I like you way more than just for your stories. In a friend way I mean,” he added quickly.

She smiled. “I know. In a friend way.” Her expression sobered. “What are you going to do about him?”

“I’ll probably talk to Dimitri and the others. They’ll help…” He grimanced.

“Do you want me to come with you?”

He shook his head. “No, I got it. At least I think so. How about I have you on speed dial, just in case I need a pep talk?”

“I can do that.”

“And you better stay on campus until we can get this sorted out okay? I know there’s a high chance he can’t do anything but just in case…”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be a recluse in my room like I usually am. Have my perfect _Awakening_ run to do.”

“What happened to TMS?”

“I was waiting for us to have another video game day to continue.”

“What? You were? Damn.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I really messed everything up didn’t I?”

“You were hurting Sylvain and you were trying to make yourself feel better the one way you knew how.”

“Yeah,” he said softly. He glanced over at his desk where his phone sat. “I better send a text.”

Realizing it was her cue, she stood. “I better get going. I still have a paper or two to write and a half of a book to analyze for class. And well, the final chapter of _A Long Lasting Dream_ needs a good edit or two.”

“Oh man, you’re almost ready to release it? It’s probably super long for you to take this long to release it.”

“It is and I hope the ending is worth it.”

“I know your writing, it will be.” Sylvain stood and opened the door for her. “Thanks Bernie,” he murmured.

“Anytime. Uh, do you want to have a TMS day next Saturday?”

“Sure, you have me all day Saturday. Gotta make up for making you wait. We’ll, well I guess you’ll play until you can’t anymore.”

She giggled. “Sure but you’re going to have to play a little too.”

Sylvain shivered. “I think you like watching me panic as I run away from the monsters.”

“Maybe a little. Anyway, I won’t keep you any longer.”

He sighed. “Darn, I wanted to hold it off a while longer. But really, thanks Bernie.” His smile was genuine and soft.

She headed for the elevator and saw Felix’s door open and he peeked his head out. He seemed taken aback by Bernadetta for a moment. She gave him a thumbs up and gestured to her phone.

Felix nodded and shut his door as quietly as he opened it.

Bernadetta didn’t realize until she was back in her room that she was still wearing Sylvain’s sweatshirt.


	18. Chapter 18

For a guy, trained in giving public speeches, Sylvain’s stomach was churning as he stood before Ingrid, Dimitri and Felix. It shocked him how fast they had assembled after he mentioned he wanted to talk with them.

Less than two hours after his talk with Bernie, the four of them were gathered in Dimitri’s dorm room. Since Dimitri was the heir to the Blaiddyd Conglomerate, it came with a lot of perks, such as a huge penthouse room on the top floor. Well, penthouse level for a dorm room, which meant enough space that he had an actual dining room table and a small personal kitchen. Dedue had his own room and space here too since he was Dimitri’s bodyguard but he was out at the moment which Sylvain suspected was purposeful.

“So,” he began.

“So?” echoed Felix. He crossed his arms and regarded Sylvain with an expression that could be taken as a glare but it was Felix’s resting face.

Sylvain looked down at the carpeted floor. The words were lodged in his throat and refused to come out. For years he had protected his friends from knowing what kind of person Miklan was. However, he knew he had to tell them, not for his sake but for Bernie. Sure she said she would be okay, but he had to make sure. He didn’t know if Miklan was still affiliated with those gangs but if they got their hands on Bernie…

“Miklan connected me a few weeks ago,” he managed to get out.

“Miklan.” Dimitri’s eyes widen in disbelief.

“What, wasn’t he on the other side of the country?” asked Ingrid.

“Well obviously he moved over here.” Felix sighed. “Let me guess, he was trying to swindle some money out of you? Or has he gotten money for you?”

“He’s gotten some money out of me and he’s asking for more.”

“Seriously?” Ingrid frowned. “Why are you giving him money like that? He messed up right?”

“Ingrid, I’m sure it is more complicated than that,” said Dimitri.

Sylvain grimaced and nodded. “He threatened to hurt Bernie. Okay, I know, you guys don’t have to look at me like that, she pointed it out too.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I just…wasn’t thinking.”

“I get it. Sometimes your siblings makes you think of things illogically,” put in Felix. “Even if it did take this long for you to finally open up with us.”

Sylvain winced. Honestly if Bernie hadn’t spoken with him, he probably wouldn’t be here right now talking to them about it. And even then he had to fight the urge to laugh it off and say it was all a joke and try to get them to move on from worrying about him.

“Well, at least he is now.” Ingrid looked to Dimitri. “This’ll be easy for you to take care of right?”

Dimitri nodded. “Of course but do you want it to go that way Sylvain? He is your brother after all and any method I go with won’t go well for him since he does have a record.”

Sylvain nodded. “I’m…sure. Honestly, I could live without seeing him again. Dimitri, I really didn’t want to use our friendship for something like this…”

“It’s the least I can do for a friend. Especially since you do not rely on us as much as we rely on you.” Dimitri took out his phone. “Would you want to speak with him before?”

Sylvain shook his head. It wouldn’t do any good to meet his brother, he knew that. Any meeting they had would deteriorate quickly and Sylvain felt like he would revert back to the boy that was frightened of his brother.

Felix stood and patted Sylvain on the back. “Let’s go get a sushi boat while Dimitri gets it all sorted out. Ingrid, you want to come?”

“Sure.” She stood and they led Sylvain out of the dorm room, Dimitri deep in a phone call.

***

Bernadetta sighed as she did one final check over. This was it, the final chapter of _A Long Lasting Dream_. It was a doozy, a ten thousand word piece that went over Chrom waking from the dream and telling Robin that he dreamt about her the whole time he was asleep. Of course she left the ending ambiguous, them looking off into the sunset, an implication of the Grima plotline was yet to come. Sure, she could have probably written more but she could sense her interest in this story was waning and she had her _other_ project to do.

She glanced at the _Loog_ book on her dresser. Yes, she needed to get started on that project if she hoped to get anywhere near done in time for his birthday.

She was about to submit the chapter when her phone went off. A text from Sylvain asking her if she was in her room and if she had a few minutes for a chat. She replied she was free and barely a second had passed after she sent it that she heard a knock on her door.

Yelping in surprise, she scrambled to the door. “Sylvain?” she squeaked.

“Sorry for the short notice,” he said meekly. His hands were shoved in his pockets and he looked more like a kid that was out in the rain rather than the confident boy she was used to.

“It’s okay.” Bernadetta let him in. “You really don’t have to take your shoes off,” she said quickly as he chucked them off before stepping onto her plus carpet.

“It’s okay. You weren’t too busy right? I probably should have waited a bit…”

“No, it’s fine.” Bernadetta walked back over to her bed where her laptop sat. “I was going to submit the final chapter of the fic today.”

“You were!?” The Sylvain she knew peeked out and his eyes brightened. “Oh man, I’m here to witness history!”

“It isn’t that much of a big deal,” she protested.

“For me it is and you know it.” He winced and sighed. “Well, I guess I shouldn’t beat around the bush too much. I talked to everyone yesterday.”

Bernadetta’s eyes widen. That was fast! She really thought it would take him a day or two to go through with it but he managed to do it after their talk yesterday?

“They’re…Dimitri’s going to take care of him. Miklan. Well, he might have already been taken care of.”

“Oh.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “I also told Dimitri to not tell me. I don’t think knowing would do any good. But he won’t be a problem anymore Bernie.”

“Are you okay about it?”

“I…I don’t know to be honest. It’s a lot to unpack and figure out. There was a lot of bad blood between us and it just being over just like that…I feel weird about it mostly.”

“Maybe you need someone to talk to about it?” she asked gently.

“What do you mean?”

“Like a therapist? Mine really helps with untangling my thoughts. I mean, it could be a short term thing to you but I think it’ll help you out a lot.”

“Maybe,” he murmured. His seemed to be looking at something that wasn’t there. “Maybe I should…”

“The school has a great counseling department,” she said quickly. “I’m sure you’ll like it.”

“Maybe…I’ll look into it, thanks Bernie.”

She nodded. “Great.” After a moment of pause she asked, “Did you come here to tell me that?”

“Oh, yeah, I felt like this was something I needed to tell you in person rather than over text. Ingrid and Felix wouldn’t leave me alone yesterday otherwise I would have done it then. Sorry for bothering you over something like this.”

“No, no, it’s okay, it’s important to you,” she put in quickly. “I just wanted to make sure you got out everything you wanted to.”

“Yeah, that’s everything.” He chuckled. “Who knew all of that childhood trauma could be fixed with a single conversation to Dimitri. Well, the actual root of the problem not everything that happened. Okay, time to stop being morbid about this.” He shook his head. “Anyway, you said you were almost done with the final chapter?”

“It’s just about.” She gestured to her laptop. “You want to read it?”

His eyes widen and then he shook his head. “Tempting but I’ll wait until you upload it! I have to read the final chapter legit! It was the story that let us be friends after all!”

She had to giggle. That was true, wasn’t it? “Give me five minutes then.” She hopped onto her bed and set her laptop onto her lap. Sylvain sat at her desk, and seemed to be browsing something on his phone while he waited.

“And done!” Bernadetta was going to offer him her laptop to read the fic on but he somehow already had her fic up on his phone.

“Oh man, it’s so long Bernie! Do you mind if I read it here? It’s going to be so good, I can feel it!”

“S…Sure,” she stammered.

Sylvain looked at her in concern. “You okay? If it’s not okay, you can tell me.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s just, I’m not used to people reading my works in front of me. It’s just…nerve-wracking.”

“Should I turn around or leave the room or something?”

“No, it’s fine, you can read it here. I’ll just focus on working on taking notes on one of the books I have to read for class.”

Although she said that, it was so hard to not pay attention to Sylvain’s responses as he read it. He was _very_ expressive. He squealed, gasped and said ‘daw’ more times than Bernadetta thought possible for the one little chapter she wrote.

“Holy crap, Bernie, that ending, this whole chapter!” His thumbs began flying across the phone screen. “Gotta write you the best comment.”

“You’re writing me a comment? But I’m right here!”

“I know but you can read the comment later and always have it with you and stuff! But it was so good Bernie! The ending was kind of melancholic and I felt like you were hinting at so many future problems, which I guess is the stuff from the game-don’t look at me like that, I read the wiki! But the fact that Chrom woke up and said he was dreaming about Robin the whole time, so cute! And she did so much for him too. Gah, the romance in it was perfect! There!”

Sylvain put down his phone. “Seriously, I loved every second of that story!”

“It wasn’t…” Bernadetta blushed. “It was okay.”

“It was anything but just ‘okay’! Your writing is great!” He rested a hand over his heart. “I gotta recover from that! Are you going to be writing anything else for the ship soon?”

She shook her head. “No, I have another project in the works. Something original.” She had to resist the urge to look at the _Loog_ book.

“Oh right, you mentioned that before. I hope I can read it someday.”

“Maybe,” she said with a smile.

“Yes. Can’t wait for that.” Sylvain checked the time on his phone. “Anyway, I really should get going, you look like you have a lot to do for class and I kind of have stuff to do myself. With everything that was going on with Miklan, I kind of fell behind in my school work. I’ll see you later Bernie?”

“I’ll see you later. Next week right?”

“Oh yeah! TMS next week! Yup, I’ll see you then.”

Sylvain left like the boy she had known him to be. She really hoped he would end up seeing a therapist, she really thought it would help him figure out everything that was related to his brother. “All you can be right now is a good support for him,” she reminded herself before focusing back on the book she had to read for class. She still had over two hundred pages to go.

She was halfway through her reading when she suddenly remembered that she didn’t give him the hoodie back. Argh!

Well he was coming by next weekend, she could give it to him then.


	19. Chapter 19

“Sylvain, you really should be using sessions so you can do more damage.”

“I know but how do you remember all this!?” Sylvian practically threw the controller into Bernadetta’s lap and she had to fumble and catch it before it fell into the bowl of salsa. “Please beat this boss for me, oh wise Bernie.”

She giggled and set the bowl of salsa next to her before reloading the save. Playing through the game with Sylvain was a lot of fun and it made going through all of the tedious parts more tolerable. Also being able to watch Sylvain react in surprise or horror depending on the story. His reaction when Bernadetta explained the original context of Tsubasa struggling to do a certain type of modeling was incredibly funny, especially since she had a feeling Sylvain read those kinds of magazines.

“Seriously, how do you just do it so fast,” he grumbled as Bernadetta began fighting her way through the enemies to get back to the boss.

The two were sitting on the floor of her bedroom, right next to each other. It made it easier to pass the controller back and forth and get to all the snacks strew around them. At first they had sat further apart and gradually got closer as the day went on but now that has been a few weeks since they started doing this weekly, they sat next to each other from the getgo.

Sylvain probably thought nothing of it but Bernadetta felt like it was a big deal for her! Little, overthinking Bernie, sitting next to a boy and being comfortable about it. It was actually kind of amazing.

Also Sylvain seemed to be enjoying his time in therapy, at least from what Bernadetta was able to gather from him from the few times he shared his experience. She was glad he was finally able to process everything and give him support so soon after…well, whatever happened to Miklan.

“So, do you have any plans for spring break next week?” Sylvain reached over Bernadetta’s lap to grab the bag of chips.

She shook her head. “Not really. I’ll be on campus.” Probably working on Sylvain’s birthday present. It felt like the more she worked on it, the longer it got.

“Oh, okay.”

Bernadetta glanced over at him. He rubbed the back of his neck and his eyes were shifting around nervously. “What’s wrong?”

“I…okay, this is going to sound super weird but you want to come home with me?”

She looked at him blankly. “Huh?”

“I mean, come to my place. Where my parents live.” He winced. “Okay, that did not make it sound any better.” He sighed. “So I was talking to my therapist about the fact Miklan threw me into a well when we were kids.”

“He threw you into a well!?” she squeaked. Holy crap, she figured Miklan wasn’t a good older brother but purposefully throwing a kid down a well? That was ridiculous.

“Yeah, it wasn’t a good time. Thankfully it was a dried up well so there was no water on the bottom but I did sprain my ankle from the fall. And I was stuck down there for a few hours, which was terrifying, anyway, I’m getting off the point. So the well is actually on my parents property and I’ve avoided that area since then. My therapist said I should try to go to it to see if I could approach it, you know, as a way to help process everything that’s happened with Miklan. And he said if I had trouble doing it alone, I could bring someone that was willing to go with me…”

“Oh, uh, sure I wouldn’t mind. Ummm, why didn’t you ask Felix or Ingrid?”

“They know about my brother but the same time they don’t _really_ know. I…” He blushed and looked away. “I think it would go the best if you were there Bernie. No pressure or anything,” he added quickly. “I know it’s a weird thing to ask and very last minute too so…”

“I’ll do it,” she said quickly.

“Really?” He looked at her in disbelief. “Are you sure? You don’t need to force yourself.”

“It’s okay.” She grabbed a cookie from another container and munched on it. “To be honest, it might be better for me to be off campus. My dad does like to attempt to have me go on blind dates and such over the longer breaks.”

“I thought we took care of that after…you know.”

“True but just in case right?” Besides based on what Sylvain was telling her, this was super important for him to face and she couldn’t just leave a friend alone when he needed her help right? “Will your parents get mad though?”

“Naw, they’re going to be out of town on a business trip. But don’t worry, there’s a lot of staff to keep the place running so we won’t be alone. Oh and since Felix, Ingrid and Dimitri will be home too, we can do stuff with them. Do you want to meet Glenn?”

“Oh, sure.” Bernadetta remembered Ingrid mentioning her fiancé a few times and she had seen a picture. They looked cute together and it was funny how similar Felix and Glenn looked, right down to the angry eyebrows and perpetual frown.

“Awesome! Thanks so much Bernie! Really, I’ll owe you big time for this!”

***

The Bernadetta from the beginning of the school year would never believe what was happening right now. Here she was, little Bernie, in a boy’s car, going to his house over spring break. Faerghus county was far from Garreg Mach, almost a seven hour drive. Despite the distance, it was a fun road trip. Sylvain had packed the car with snacks and they listened to random songs and sang along. Sylvain even stopped at the rest stop where he had taken a picture with the children’s firetruck ride. Due to his insistence, she sat in it and Sylvain had gotten a picture. Based on how she struggled to get out, she assumed Sylvain had a harder time with his longer legs, which he outright denied.

It was almost nightfall on the first day of their spring break when they finally reached his mansion. Bernadetta was no stranger to huge homes, hers was really big, but her home was like an apartment compared to the sprawling acres of land that made up Sylvain’s home. His house looked triple the size of hers, the driveway double the length with carefully pruned topiaries lining it.

Sylvain drove up to the front door and parked right outside of it. As they got out, an older man dressed in a uniform hurried out and seemed taken aback by Sylvain and Bernadetta standing there.

“Park my car in the garage.” Sylvain tossed him the keys.

“Of course sir,” he said quickly.

“Uh…” Bernadetta stammered.

“Don’t worry, it’s me, not you.” Sylvain pulled their bags out of the back seat. “I don’t usually bring my car up front like this so that probably threw him off. I did give the heads up you were coming.”

“Oh, okay…” She took her backpack and slung it over her shoulders.

The inside made it clear the Gautiers was an old family. Family heirlooms sat next to modern décor, and she didn’t doubt that everything here carried a high price tag. Sylvain led her up the grand staircase and to the guest room she would be using for the duration of the stay.

“I can ask the chef to prepare a meal for us tonight or do you want to eat out? There’s a really good Dagda restaurant in town.”

“Whatever is easier,” she stammered, already feeling the dread of having to make a choice of where to eat. “I mean you did drive for seven hours.”

“I mean, we can always get it delivered so it’s not a big deal.”

“Uh, well, it uh…” Damn it, why did Sylvain have to give the choice to her!?

Sylvain pulled out his phone. “Let’s order for tonight. We can eat-in tomorrow.” He glanced out the nearest window.

Curiously, Bernadetta looked out as well and saw a collection of trees. Was the well beyond that? “We could wait a few days until you’re ready?”

He shook his head. “No, I want to get it done and over with so the rest of this break can be a ton of fun. There’s a lot of cool stuff to do around here and I want you to see as much of it as we can get to Bernie!”

“Okay but don’t push yourself Sylvain. Sometimes it’s okay to wait if you aren’t ready yet.”

“I get it but I think with you here, I’m definitely ready for it.”

***

The next morning, after breakfast, Sylvain led Bernadetta out into the woods behind the property. This was not a well-kept woods for the sake of appearance but a true wild thing of nature, the few human trails barely functionable.

When Bernadetta asked, Sylvain replied, “It’s a holdover from the old days. Apparently my family did a lot of hunting a few generations ago and having your own land to hunt game is a big deal around these parts. Felix, Ingrid and Dimitri all have pieces of woods on their property too. And what we have today is only a fraction of the land that the families used to own. Most of it was sold to build other things or turned into conservation fields.”

“Oh, that’s cool, it’s like you have your own magical woods in your backyard.”

“True but I rarely did go in here. I was not an adventurous sort of kid.”

Glancing at him, Bernadetta could tell the woods were not filled with pleasant memories for him. She really hoped he would be okay, she had the sense he was pushing himself to do this more than he was ready for it.

She yelped as a root caught her foot and she stumbled forward, almost faceplanting into the dirt if Sylvain didn’t grab her arm to steady her. “Should have given you a heads up that it’s not really maintained that well out here. You okay?”

“Yeah.” She took a deep breath. That scared her more than it should have. “In case you couldn’t tell, I’m not big on nature either.”

“But you have plants in your dorm room!”

“Those are indoor plants. That’s different from…this.” She gestured to the nature all around them. Her plants didn’t run the risk of tripping her, or being poisonous or whatever else wild plants did.

“If you say so,” he said with a chuckle.

As they got closer, she noticed Sylvain’s steps were slowing and he seemed more unsure of himself.

“You really don’t have to do it today if you can’t. It’s okay to try again tomorrow.”

“No, I’ll do it. I feel like if I don’t, I’ll avoid doing it for the rest of today.” He still seemed so unsure and nervous though as if he didn’t believe it himself.

However he kept pushing forward and Bernadetta diligently followed him. This was the easy part, she had a feeling once he got to the well and saw it, he was going to be even more stressed out and worried.

Another five minutes passed before Sylvain’s steps slowed to a stop. Glancing around him, Bernadetta saw a well sitting in the middle of a small clearing. Moss grew along the sides and between the stones. It was a small thing, maybe one day long ago it was functional, but now it seemed to be a part of the forest itself.

“Sylvain? You okay?”

He nodded slowly, his jaw clenched. “Yeah. Fine.” He shook his head and took a few steps closer to the well. “Miklan told me he wanted to show me something cool. This was back when I still found him a little cool and was seeking his approval. I was so happy that he wanted to do something with me.

“He led me out here, saying it was something he wanted to show me for a long time. I was excited, the stupid kid I was. We came out here and then we got to the well and he told me to look into it. When I did…he pushed me in.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I should have known better.”

“You were a kid Sylvain, it wasn’t your fault.” Bernadetta hesitated for a moment before tightly grasping Sylvain’s hand with both of hers. She hoped he was not too far gone in his memories that he would be unable to see her in the present. “You were a kid, you didn’t know and it was Miklan’s choice to push you in.”

Sylvain blinked and focused on her and then looked at his hand clasped in hers. “It’s hard Bernie,” he whispered. “I remember every moment, every scrap and bump from falling into the well and I was lying there for so long.”

“You’re doing a good job so far Sylvain,” she said softly. “If this is too much, we can go back now?”

He shook his head. “I think I have to go look into the well itself.”

“Sylvain…”

“Please Bernie…I have to. I don’t think I can come back here after this.”

“Okay.” She released his hand but much to her surprise, he made a grab for her hand, and tightly wound his fingers around hers, the grip borderline bone-crushing

“Just…sorry…”

“It’s okay. Let’s go,” she said gently.

Sylvain approached the well, Bernadetta by his side. Peering down into it, she saw it had dried up a long time. Dirt and decaying leaves covered the bottom. It was surprisingly shallower than Bernadetta expected it would be. If she fell into it, with a jump and a bit of scrambling, she would be able to get out without issue. However she could picture how alarming it would seem for a small child.

She looked at him in concern. “You okay?”

He stared down into the well and a small laugh escaped his lips. “It’s so…I could pull myself out of that with no problem now.” He rested his free hand on the stone. “It’s…I can’t believe I thought of this as a threat.”

“Sylvain, your last memory of this well was when you were a child. It’s okay if you were scared but you did it Sylvain! You were able to face it.” 

He smiled weakly. “I did, didn’t I?” He took a step back. “Oh, sorry Bernie.” He released her hand and she instinctively flexed her fingers to try and get feeling back.

“It’s okay Sylvain. You feeling alright?” She frowned, knowing how hard this kind of stuff can be. She leaned against the well to help take the weight off her feet. Her endurance was quite crappy and she had to keep up with Sylvain’s fast gait on the walk here.

“Honestly, I don’t know. It’s just…a mess in my head right now.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m ready to go back.”

“Okay,”” she said softly.

Feeling something shift behind her, she glanced back in confusion just as the rock wall of the well give way and she barely had time to scream as she fell backwards into the well.


	20. Chapter 20

What just happened?

One moment Bernadetta was there and the next she wasn’t, the side of the well caved in. Fear thudded through Sylvain, the memories of what happened when he was a child burning through him. The child stuck at the bottom of the well, looking up to the circle of sky. His brother looking down at him with a wide smirk before leaving him there for hours.

For hours and hours he was down there. He tried to climb out but it was impossible with his sprained ankle. He feared he would be stuck there forever, until he was just bones and everyone would forget about him. Felix, Ingrid and Dimitri would move on with their lives and no one would remember him.

He snapped back to the present, hearing a scraping noise. For a moment Bernie’s head peeked up the broken section of the well before she yelped and disappeared again.

Holy crap, Bernie was in the well right now!

“Bernie! Are you okay!?”” He ran over to it, careful to not touch the stone. Who knew how sturdy the rest of it was.

“I’m fine Sylvain, I got lucky.” She stood at the bottom of the well and gestured to the broken pieces of stone around her. “Well I got a few scrapes and bruises but other than that, I’m okay.”

He sighed in relief. “Okay, here, take my hand.”

She reached up and grasped his hand and scrambled to pull herself up with the tiny footholds in the stone wall. Maybe it was the adrenaline but Sylvain barely felt her weight as he helped pull her out.

“I wasn’t expecting that at all to be honest…” She dusted off her pants and looked down at her scraped palms and grimaced. 

Sylvain really stared at Bernie. Her clothes were dirty, twigs and decaying leaves stuck out of her messier hair. And that probably wasn’t counting all of the scrapes and bruises she probably had from her tumble. It was his fault that had happened, his fault that she was even out here to begin with.

“Sylvain?” She took a step towards him, her eyes bright with concern.

He wrapped his arms around her, drawing her to his chest, his face buried in her hair.

“Sylvain!” she squeaked.

He tightened his grip on her. If she had fallen wrong, she could have broken her leg or worse, her neck. She had come out here because he had insisted on it. What would he had done if he had lost her? He couldn’t imagine not seeing her cute smile or the way she pouted when an enemy got a crit on her in a video game.

“Sylvain! I can’t breathe!”

Realizing what he was doing, he startled and released her. “Sorry, sorry.” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “It’s…I…I don’t know what came over me there.” He looked at the well and hated the shiver that went up his spine. Now he had another negative memory associated with it.

“Uh, it’s okay,” she stammered. She ran her fingers through her hair and pulled out a few of the twigs. As she did, her sweatshirt rode up and Sylvain could see bruises on her arm, she probably had landed on it when she had fell.

He grimaced. “Why don’t we head back to the house so we can make sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine Sylvain, like I said, just a few bumps here and there but besides that, I’m doing okay!”

“That’s…good to hear…” He looked at the well. “I just…don’t want to stay here any longer.”

Her expression softened and she nodded. “Okay, let’s head back.”

Sylvain walked slowly, his attention fixated on making sure Bernie was fine. Was he imaging it or did she have a slight limp? Did she hit her leg on the way down too!? Damn it, this was his fault. If only he didn’t suggest they do this. Why did he have to go back to the well? He wondered if any of his girls were free today for a quickie. The emotional turmoil in him needed a place to go and sometimes being with someone sexually was the only way he could handle it.

No, he couldn’t do that! That would mean he would need to leave Bernie behind at his house and what kind of host would he be if he left the girl he invited over just so he could have fun with someone else? Well, fun in a different way.

“Sylvain, it’s not your fault,” she said softly. “I leaned against the well and it couldn’t handle my weight, it’s an old well.”

“But…”

She shook her head stubbornly. “It’s not your fault Sylvain. That one was mine. You don’t need to blame yourself. I was just a little clumsy, that’s all. And I’m fine, well a little dusty and I really want to wash my hair because who knows what got in there but other than that, I’m okay, and that’s all that matters right? Right?” she repeated while giving him a warning look.

“Right,” he relented. “But, if it really hurts…let me know okay?”

“It’s nothing bad, I’ve had worse in archery. One time I cut my palm with my bowstring, that was more traumatizing than this.”

Sylvain was taken aback by the casual tone. “I didn’t realize archery was a dangerous sport.”

“Oh, there’s a lot of ways to hurt yourself if you aren’t careful. Maybe I can tell you some over lunch?”

He nodded in agreement. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, he was beginning to be aware of his stomach rumbling and asking for food. “Well, there’s a good pizza joint, we can go there for lunch and you can tell me some of these crazy stories? After you get cleaned up of course.”

She smiled at him. “Sure.”

***

Bernadetta could tell the events by the well bothered him. For the rest of the day, he was a little off, his smile not as bright as it usually was, his reactions a bit slower. She understood though, it took time, especially after facing a traumatic event of the past, even moreso that she was an idiot and leaned against the old well.

After pizza, they had driven around the neighborhood, Sylvain pointing out all of the places he frequented and Bernadetta tried to respond as enthusiastically as possible. Dinner was at the local Brigid restaurant before they returned to the house. With the crazy day that was had, they decided it would be for the best to retire early for the night and Bernadetta went to her room to do a little writing before bed.

Before she fell asleep, she realized the call of nature was a little too strong at the moment, and she got up and tiptoed into the hall. It took her a moment to orient herself, all the lights were off, dark shadows being cast from the moonlight coming in through the windows. She focused on her goal, knowing if she stood here and thought too much, she would start seeing monsters in the dark, one of the curses of having an overactive imagination.

The bathroom was close to the kitchen and she noted there was a glow in there. Odd. Based on what Sylvain told her, the staff had gone home by this time. Was one of Sylvain’s parents home? Should she introduce herself? Would that be weird?

She crept over and peered around the corner. Sylvain sat at the kitchen counter, the island light on with one elbow on the counter, his head in his hand. He was on his phone, scrolling through something, his mouth twisted to a slight frown. Like always, he seemed to be able to tell when she was staring at him as he looked up and startled as if surprised to see her standing there.

***

Holy crap, he hugged Bernie.

That thought ran through Sylvain’s mind over and over for the rest of the day. He was able to ignore it for most of the day, they had been busy doing one thing or another and he wanted to make sure she had a good time. Well, it also meant he didn’t have to focus on the swirling emotional turmoil inside of him.

However, once she retired to her room for the night, those thoughts came back in full force. The exhaustion and memories associated with his brother and the well along with hugging Bernie. Knowing that sleeping was not an option, he headed for the kitchen and sat at the island and tried to go through his social media feed to try to control his thoughts.

He hugged Bernie.

He only hugged girls he was sleeping with and that was usually because they wanted to hug him. He definitely didn’t want to sleep with Bernie, just having that thought made him feel gross. However, everything that happened was so overwhelming and just the idea of Bernie getting severely hurt because of him made him want to hold her tight and protect her from everything.

What was going on here?

This was not him at all. He had worked so hard to make it clear that his relationship was Bernie was similar to the one he had with Ingrid. They weren’t like the girls he spent time with for their bodies, he liked them for the type of person they were. Even then it was different. Ingrid was cool and all, but he never had the urge to hug her tight or spend copious amounts of time with her. What was wrong with him?

He felt a prickle on the back of his neck, the feeling of being watched. He looked up and startled, almost dropping his phone as he saw Bernie standing in the doorway of the kitchen in an old anime t-shirt with pajama pants.

“Sorry,” she said quietly.

“It’s fine Bernie.” He put down his phone, the sweat prickling on the back of his neck. Thank Seiros she wasn’t a mind-reader. “What’s up?”

“I was just going to the bathroom and saw the light on and I was just curious.”

“Oh yeah, that makes sense.”

An awkward silence descended upon them.

Bernie shifted in place. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Huh?” A slight blush tinted his cheeks. Crap, was he saying what he was thinking out loud?

“About everything that happened today. At the well?”

“I didn’t mean to hug you, I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “It won’t happen again.”

She seemed taken aback by his words. “Uh, I was referring to everything else. With what your brother did.”

“Oh, that…” He rubbed the back of his neck. Damn it, of course she would be referring to that! It didn’t seem like she was making a big deal out of this whole hug thing at all. Even right after he did it and apologized, she didn’t seem too distressed about it. “I’m doing okay.”

Bernie stepped into the kitchen and sat across from him on the island. “You sure?” Her gray eyes stared at him intently, as if she was trying to see through him. “It’s not good to hold this stuff back.”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” He sighed and his shoulders slumped. “It is there in the back of my mind. When I close my eyes, I just see the well and the hole of light I saw then. And Miklan there, laughing at me.” He shook his head. “I really thought it would all be over if I just faced that damned well.”

“You took a step forward and that’s what matters!” She reached over and took his hand and squeezed it tight between hers. “You tried your best Sylvain and you are on your way of healing. Be kinder to yourself, it won’t happen overnight.”

He had to chuckle. “Have you ever thought of being a therapist?”

She blushed and looked to the side. “No, of course not. I’ve just been in therapy for a long time so I’ve picked up on a few sayings and stuff, that’s all.” She released his hand and set her hands in her lap. “I think you were very brave today Sylvain.”

“Thanks,” he murmured.

After a moment of silence, she stood. “I brought my switch with me. Sometimes playing a bit helps me feel better.”

“Sure why not?” There was no way he was going to be able to sleep tonight anyway. Usually at a time like this, he would contact one of his girls and spend the night with them to take his mind off everything.

After a quick stop to the bathroom, they returned to the guest room. While Bernadetta set up the switch dock, Sylvain looked around the room, already seeing a problem. There were no chairs. The only place to sit besides the floor was the huge bed. And the way the room was set up, to watch TV comfortably, one needed to be sitting on the bed, the floor in front of the TV way too close.

Bernadetta hopped onto the bed and crossed her legs. She held out the controller. “You want to play first?”

He shook his head. Honestly, it was _just_ a bed. He plopped down next to her and took the controller. “Alright, Itsuki. Let’s see what craziness you get into!”


	21. Chapter 21

Bernadetta could barely keep her eyes open.

It was getting close to three in the morning and her body was exhausted. The aches and pains from her tumble in the well was coming back, her body yelling her to sleep so she could rest and recover. She was worried about Sylvain though. He looked tired but it was like he was forcing himself to play, as if he was doing everything he could to avoid going to sleep.

She let out another long yawn.

He looked to her. “You sleepy Bernie?”

“Well it is almost three,” she pointed out.

“Wait, what?” Sylvain looked down at his phone. “Huh, I guess it is. Sorry, we should probably stop for now.”

“It’s okay.” Bernadetta took the controller from him and hopped off the bed to turn off the switch. She yawned again, her head aching slightly as she begged for sleep.

“Well, I guess I should leave so you can get some sleep.” Sylvain was obviously trying to put on a smile for her.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” she asked softly. “What do you do when you can’t sleep normally?”

He seemed to freeze for a moment, a slight flush taking his cheeks. “Well, uh, I would usually spend the night with someone.”

With someone? What did he-oh. Well, she did tell him to be more open with her about this kind of thing. Hang on. “Did you not go because I’m here?”

“I’m going to abandon you for the evening and night because I want to…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Anyway, it’s okay.” He stood and yawned.

Maybe it was because of how late it was and how tired she was but she gestured to the bed. “We could share the bed? I mean, just regular sleeping, nothing…like _that_.”

“Bernie, I couldn’t…”

“It’s big enough for the both of us.” She could stretch out and she barely took up half the bed. If she slept on one end and Sylvain on the other, there wasn’t any risk of them touching. This wasn’t weird right?

Maybe Sylvain just needed someone sleeping close to him rather than needing the physical touch?

He yawned and looked like he was going to protest but saw her expression and sighed. “I’m too tired to fight. Okay.” He crawled to one side of the bed and dropped his phone on the bedside table.

Bernadetta slipped under the covers on the other side. There was at least a double sized bed of space between them. Maybe it was how tired she was or how crazy the day had been, but despite the fact it usually took her forever to fall asleep, she was asleep in seconds.

***

Bernadetta jerked awake, not really sure what awoke her. The room was dark and her phone clock said it was five in the morning. She had only gotten two hours of sleep. Damn it, her inability to sleep the whole night in a new environment.

She heard a sniffle and a groan and she froze, what was that? Was there someone in the room with her?

A moment later she remembered she had offered Sylvain to sleep in the same bed as her. Turning over, she could barely make out Sylvain’s still form on the other end of the bed. The noises were coming from him and he was obviously twitching.

“Sylvain?” she whispered.

No response.

Was he dreaming?

She shifted closer until she was in almost touching distance. He was murmuring something under his breath and then reaction with a groan or a yelp. Was he dreaming about something? She really hoped he wasn’t having nightmares about what happened with Miklan. It also probably didn’t help she fell into the same well that triggered those horrible memories.

“I’m sorry Sylvain,” she whispered. She reached out and gently touched his back.

Oddly enough, his twitching seemed to subside although he was still murmuring a bit. She was beginning to wonder if it was less the act of having sex but having the physical presence next to him that helped keep him grounded.

She shifted closer to him and awkwardly put her arm around him from behind. He seemed to relax into her, the nightmares seeming to fade from him as he quieted. Well, now what? She wasn’t sure how this worked. Should she move back to her original spot? But what if the nightmares started again? Staying here though seemed so awkward. How in the world was she supposed to explain this?

She was so close to him now, her head right up against his back, her arm around his waist. She pulled her arm back and carefully shifted back but Sylvain began murmuring again, his body tensing up. When she positioned herself back in the same place as before, he relaxed.

This was fascinating and she noted it for a future story and hoped she would remember it in the morning to write it down since there was no way she was going to be able to do that now.

For now, she really hoped she would be able to fall asleep like this.

***

Sylvain opened his eyes and at first was confused to where he was. That was not his bedroom wall. Hang on, why did his back feel so warm and why was there an arm around his waist? He glanced over his shoulder in confusion and had to clamp back a curse as he saw Bernie sleeping peacefully behind him. Spooning him to be more precise.

Crap, crap, crap. He ran through his memories of last night. They didn’t _do_ anything right? Holy crap, he was an emotional mess, barely holding it together. Normally he would call up one of his girls and spend the night with them but Bernie was here and he couldn’t leave her behind to go do that. And it was sweet of her to pick up that he couldn’t sleep and offered to play more TMS with him, even to the point it looked like she was going to fall asleep on him.

Ugh, did he do something after that? He definitely wouldn’t forgive himself if that was the case.

Sure they had slept in the same bed, but he tried to think of it like how he and Ingrid shared a bed when they were kids(well, Dimitri and Felix were there too). There was so much space and he didn’t move much in his sleep that he was sure nothing would happen. Was Bernie someone that moved a lot in her sleep? But to perfectly get in this position, it had to be deliberate.

No, he didn’t remember anything odd. He had fallen asleep and this was the first time he woke up.

He felt her stir behind him and he froze. What in the world was he supposed to do now!? How was he going to explain this when he had no idea what had happened? He glanced over his shoulder and startled to see Bernie looking up at him.

“Oh, you’re awake…” She pulled her arm back.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” He sat up and looked down at her.

She frowned and sat up. “What are you sorry about?”

Sylvain shifted back as far as he could go without falling off the bed, which was sadly not far at all. “For uh, you know, the spooning? Listen, I didn’t mean anything by it.”

She stared at him in confusion “Wait, hang on, are you apologizing for me hugging you in your sleep?”

“Well, uh yeah?” Now it was his turn to look confused. “Wait, you were hugging me?”

She looked down and played with the edge of the blanket. “I woke up and you looked like you were having a nightmare. I got closer to make sure you were okay and I touched your back and you quieted so I was thinking how perhaps you didn’t need the sex portion of your time with the girls but more the intimacy part so I put an arm around you and well, you quieted down after that.”

Panic was beginning to set on her face. “I mean, I was super tired when I did it so I wasn’t thinking straight myself and I think I was feeling guilty because it was partly my fault since you went out to the well cause I was here and then I fell into the well but you couldn’t use your usual coping skill cause I was here and oh, Bernie, you’re always so stupid.”

“Hey now, enough of putting yourself down.” He rubbed the back of his neck, really not sure how to proceed here. “Thanks,” he said clumsily. “For uh doing that. I think I was able to get some sleep because of you.”

“Oh, you’re welcome.” After a moment of silence she said quickly, “I wonder what time it is, we went to bed super late after all.”

Sylvain grabbed his phone. “It’s a little past noon.” Damn, he must have been _really_ comfortable, normally his internal clock would wake him at eleven at the latest. And this was even if he was spending the night with a girl.

“Oh wow, I hope this didn’t mess up the plans for today,” she said with a frown.

Sylvain shook his head. “Naw, the gardens is open late, we’ll be fine.” Since Bernie loved plants, he knew he had to take her to the botanical gardens just outside the city. He had gone there a few times when he was on “dates” with a few of his girls but he never really paid attention to the greenery, his focus on catching kisses whenever he could. “I think they do brunch too so we can get ready and head over there?”

She nodded. “Sounds good.”

He got up from the bed and stuffed his phone in his pocket. “Thanks Bernie, really.”

“Uh, no problem Sylvain.”

He left her room and shut the door behind him, noticing a maid was dusting nearby. “It wasn’t like that,” he protested, noting her look. “We were playing video games late and I fell asleep on her bed.”

“Of course sir,” said the maid politely but he could tell it was obvious that she did not one hundred percent believe what he said.

He winced, knowing whatever he said would not make this look any better. His own reputation used against him. Well, they probably already thought the worst of him since Bernie was staying at the house and the only girls that he had over where the type that he slept with.

Thankfully they were discrete enough to not act weird around Bernie. For now, all he had to focus on was getting ready to go.


	22. Chapter 22

Sylvain didn’t realize how much fun it could be to just look at plants. The botanical gardens itself was separated into many areas, each area housing a particular theme, may it be color, or type of plant or even a walkway of tulips. One area had fountains arranged in a semi-circle and apparently at certain times of day, there was a water show. One of the coolest things had to be the large greenhouse that housed plants from all over the world. This had to be the first time he was ever excited walking through a desert biome filled with cactus.

“Holy crap, that cactus is almost going through the ceiling!” Sylvain craned his head back and marveled at how large the cactus was.

Bernie giggled. “It’s like you’ve never seen pictures of wild cacti before.”

“Okay, I’ve seen pics online but it’s nothing like how they are in person! Dang, those spines are so long!” For a moment he had the morbid urge to touch them but he resisted. Getting that stuck in his finger did not sound pleasant and there was a strict ‘no-touching’ policy in the gardens.

He followed Bernie into the next area and was taken aback by the large crowd. Apparently this was where the orchids were kept and everyone was here to marvel at the newest additions to the exhibit.

“Oh man, are we going to even be able to get through this…” Sylvian rubbed the back of his neck as he regarded the crowd. Oh wait, wasn’t Bernie not good with crowds? Glancing at the girl in question, she had her hands clasped tightly around the strap of her purse, her eyes slightly wide and was he imagining it or was she shaking a little?

“You okay?” He lightly nudged her with an elbow.

“Huh? Uh yeah,” she stammered.

Realizing that people were waiting behind them since they were blocking the pathway, Sylvain gestured behind them. “Want to head back the way we came?”

She wrung her hands together. “N...No, I want to see what’s ahead. I heard the venus flytraps are past this…”

Sylvain was worried she was going to have a panic attack while they stood here. “Why don’t we just push through to the next area?” he suggested.

“Okay…”

It was easier said than done. The crowd was not moving for the most part, many people had stopped to marvel and take pictures of the flowers. There was a lot of “excuse mes” and Sylvain felt like he was only halfway through the area.

“How you doing Bernie?” He glanced to his right and didn’t see the messy purple hair anywhere. “Bernie!?” He looked around in a panic and saw she was a few feet back, having a little harder time than him to get through the crowd. Her face also looked dangerously pale.

He hurried back to her. “Hey, you okay Bernie?”

“Fine,” she stammered.

She looked anything but fine but this was probably not the best place to have that conversation. But at the same time he was worried about walking too fast and leaving her behind again. After a moment of hesitation and getting bumped by the crowd, he held out a hand. “Here, I think it’ll be easier if we hold hands?” As soon as the words were out of his mouth he wanted to take them back. Why did he suggest that? She could just hold onto his sleeve or something, she didn’t-

Without hesitation, she grabbed his hand, her grip incredibly strong for someone so small. This crowd must really be messing with her anxiety.

He weaved through the crowd, Bernie a couple steps behind him. Once they passed through the orchid area and into the next one, the crowd thinned to almost nonexistent.

“Damn, it’s like people have never seen orchids before or something.” He rolled his eyes. Checking on Bernie, he startled and saw she looked as miserable and exhausted as she did in the crowd. “You okay Bernie!?”

“Give me a moment,” she said, her voice detached and slightly cold.

“Oh, sure.”

She pulled away and hurried to the closest bench. After sitting down, she pulled out her phone along with a pair of earbuds. After placing the earbuds in her ears, she became hyper focused on whatever she was looking at.

Awkwardly Sylvain looked at the nearest vine-like plants, his hands stuffed in his pockets. She had never spoken to him like that before. Did he do something wrong? Crap, maybe he shouldn’t have offered to hold hands? He rubbed the back of his neck. Or maybe it was because of what happened this morning? How in the world was he supposed to take Bernie cuddling him to make him feel better? Sure it did help him sleep, but for him cuddling meant…

He shivered and felt grossed out at the thought. No way he wanted to do _anything_ like that with Bernie. But he had to admit, the cuddling was nice now that he was really thinking about it. But was it normal to cuddle with someone that you weren’t with sexually? Holy crap, did this meant he actually had to talk to Ingrid about something like this?

“Sorry for the wait…” Bernie walked over. “It was very loud so I was trying to ground myself and I was feeling some sensory overload so I needed a few minutes.”

It’s okay,” he said cheerfully. Thank Seiros it wasn’t because of him. “Anyway, shall we go find those venus fly traps?”

***

Bernie had to hold back a laugh as Sylvain threw the controller at her lap as he died for the fourth time against the boss. “That’s it, I’m done. Please win for me Bernie.”

She picked up the controller. “You have to use sessions Sylvain.”

“I know that and you saw me, I was using them! It’s not my fault the boss hits so hard!”

“I don’t know how you are going to beat the final boss at this rate Sylvain…” Bernie shook her head in mock disappointment.

“Wait, I have to do the final boss? Come on Bernie, be reasonable here!”

“How about I tell you what to do while you play?”

“Okay, that I can do!” He gave her a deadpan look as she sped through the boss fight. “Okay, you’re just showing off aren’t you?”

“Maybe?”

He sighed and checked his phone. “Damn, should probably turn in soon. They’re expecting us by eleven tomorrow.”

Bernadetta nodded and saved the game. Tomorrow the plan was to go to Felix’s house and meet Glenn for the first time and hang out with Dimitri, Ingrid and Felix. She hopped off the bed and put away her switch. “Are you going to be okay tonight?” she asked.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I should be fine.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s been a day, so it’s a bit better…”

“If you say so…”

“I know so. So uh, good night Bernie.”

“Night.”

After Sylvain left, she hopped on the bed and opened her laptop. She hadn’t written in a few days and the itch was starting to become unbearable. Also she really needed to get some work done on this story. An hour or two of writing wouldn’t hurt.

***

Sylvain stared at his ceiling.

He couldn’t sleep.

He tried for the past hour and a half, tossing and turning in bed, his mind whirling and going over the events of two days ago. It wasn’t as intrusive but it was still there, Miklan’s voice reminding him of the failure he was. All he wanted to do was grab his phone and call someone, anyone to get his mind off of this. Well, if he left their house early…

No way he could do that!

Bernie was a guest, he couldn’t just leave to have a quickie and come back, it wouldn’t be right!

However that still didn’t help the fact he couldn’t sleep right now.

Giving up, he climbed out of bed and almost knocked over the small cactus on his bedside table on the quest to locate his phone. A surprise present from Bernie from the gardens gift shop. Apparently it was incredibly easy to take care of, even for a plant-challenged guy like Sylvain. Well, he was going to need to do a lot of research on cacti so he didn’t kill it!

He headed for the kitchen. He knew his mother kept some sleeping pills hidden in the back of one of the cabinets. She probably wouldn’t mind him taking a few to sleep. He frowned, noticing the light was on in the room. Did one of the staff leave the light on? That was careless of them.

Much to his surprise, Bernie was sitting at the kitchen island, sipping out of a cup. She was also going through her phone, obviously reading something.

“You’re still up?”

She squealed and flinched as she turned to him. “Oh! Hi Sylvian.”

“Sorry about that.” He winced.

“No problem.” She looked down at her mug and then at him. “Sorry for helping myself to the stuff in your kitchen.”

“No, it’s okay.” He walked over to the cabinet and began looking around for the pill bottle. “What are you still doing up? Couldn’t sleep?”

“No, I haven’t gone to sleep yet.”

He paused in his searching and looked at her confused.

“I was writing. I lost track of time a little.” She lifted her cup. “I made some hot chocolate to help myself fall asleep.”

“Dang, you were writing for so long.” He located the bottle and pulled it out.

“Are you having trouble sleeping?” She frowned.

“It’s okay, that’s what these are for.” He shook the bottle. “Don’t like using them but you do what you have to do right?”

Bernie’s concerned look set his heart on edge. “Sylvain…if you want…we could…” She bit her lip.

“We could what?” he prompted. “Seriously, you can be open with me Bernie, nothing you can will be weird.” Did she want to make him a cup of hot chocolate? That would be sweet but he knew he would refuse. It was already super late after all.

“We could sleep together?” She winced at Sylvain’s look of horror. “I meant actually sleep! In the same bed! Not like _that_. Oh Bernie, you’re ruining everything,” she mumbled.

Sylvain rubbed the back of his neck, trying to process what she just said. “You didn’t ruin anything Bernie.” Just gave him a heart attack. “That’s just…”

“It seemed to help you last night,” she stammered. “With sleeping. And like I said, it seems like you need someone physically sleeping next to you than doing anything like _that_.” She fell silent and seemed to shrink in herself as she stared at her hot chocolate.

“But Bernie…that would mean…” He grimaced, hating how his emotions seemed to be swirling weirdly in him right now. The worst was that a part of him _wanted_ to sleep in the same bed as Bernie, the idea of cuddling with her was super cute and tempting. She was small enough and looked like she would fit perfectly in his arms.

He banished that mental image.

He was Sylvain Gautier. He only cuddled after having sex with a girl and that’s just because the girl wanted it. Bernie was another level compared to those girls. There was no way he wanted to pull her down to that level. That was why he had been careful with touching her too. Sure, shoulders touching was fine along with light taps on the arm but hugs when she wasn’t the one to initiate? No way. Even holding hands earlier today to get through the crowd was a little closer to what he did with those girls for his liking. He wanted her to know that he thought of her as different from them, he didn’t want her for a quick night of fun, he cared about her for who she was as a person.

“I think these will do for the night.” He shook the bottle of sleeping pills. “Good night Bernie, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Night,” she said softly.

He winced, her voice sounded so off and defeated. Damn it, they had an amazing day today and it had to end on a sour note. However what could he do about it? There was no way he could agree to sleeping in the same bed as her again!

Well, hopefully things would be better in the morning.


	23. Chapter 23

Bernadetta was an idiot.

She stared out the window and watched the various mansions pass them by. The tension in the car was so loud that it was ringing in her ears. Inwardly she kept cursing herself. Why did she have to offer to sleep in the same bed as Sylvain last night? Of course he was going to react like that, it was weird! Sure he did it once before but it was super late and the same day as him facing his past. He was emotionally vulnerable and wasn’t thinking straight.

Stupid, she was so stupid!

This morning had been just as bad as last night, they barely saying a word to the other. Why did she have to say anything!?

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Sylvain drive. Obviously the sleeping pills did help him fall asleep but his eyes looked tired, like he had not rested enough.

“There’s Felix’s house on the left,” he said.

Looking out the window, she should not have been surprised that Felix’s family home had a similar set up to Sylvain’s. A long driveway, a well-kept huge lawn, a house that could probably house triple the amount of people that actually lived there.

Sylvain parked the car near the entrance. As they got out, the front door opened and Felix stood there.

“Saw you guys pull up,” he said in his usual gruff manner.

“Awwww, nice to know you’re rolling out the red carpet,” said Sylvain with a laugh, like he had not been sullen in the car a few moments before.

As they stepped into the grand foyer, Bernadetta saw Dimitri and Ingrid in the living room to her left, along with a man she had not met before. He looked to be a spitting, older version of Felix, his dark blue hair also in a ponytail. He looked up at Bernie and grinned.

“Damn Sylvain, when I heard you were bringing a girl, I wasn’t expecting her to look like that.”

“Glenn!” Ingrid elbowed him hard in the side. “I told you to be nice!”

“Ow. Come on Ingrid, you could hold back a little there!”

“I agree with Ingrid, that was uncalled for,” said Dimitri.

“Damn, you guys are no fun,” grumbled Glenn.

“Ignore him Bernie, sometimes I think he has rocks for a brain,” sighed Ingrid.

“Uh, okay,” she stammered.

“You’ll learn really quick that he doesn’t mean half of the things he says. Or maybe he does, it’s hard to tell,” said Felix.

“You wound me brother.” Glenn put a hand on his heart dramatically.

Felix rolled his eyes. “You’ll get over it.”

“Sylvain hasn’t been weird to you right?” asked Ingrid.

“Hey now, I can be a gentleman if I want to be!” he protested.

“It’s been fine,” she said softly. “He wasn’t weird.” Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a slight twitch in Sylvain’s expression. Probably thinking about the same thing she was.

“Why don’t we get this little party started?” Sylvain said quickly.

***

“Here, I’ll help you with the snacks.”

Sylvain got up and followed Ingrid into the kitchen. Behind them, Glenn, Felix, Dimitri and Bernie were deep in a game of cards. Well, Glenn, Felix and Bernie was. Dimitri seemed to never have good luck with this sort of thing as he was always the first one out. He was watching the game intently in an attempt to pick up pointers on how to be better at it. Sylvain had been impressed by how unnaturally good Bernie was. She always seemed to get the right card at the right time. She said it had something to do with her gacha luck…whatever that meant.

All Sylvain cared about was the fact that she seemed to be having a good time, especially after what happened last night.

“Get the bowl from that drawer. The fancy looking one with the separate compartments.” Ingrid went into the pantry like she lived here and began pulling out bags of chips and other party snacks.

“Hey Ingrid, can I ask you something?”

“I knew there was a reason you wanted to help out.” She handed him a bag of chips to open while she opened a bag of pretzels.

“Oh come on, I help…sometimes.”

She rolled her eyes. “Usually Dimitri would be helping out but you offered so fast he couldn’t even say anything. What’s going on?” She went over to the fridge and pulled out a jar of salsa. “It’s something to do with Bernie I assume?”

“How did you know that?”

She gave him a deadpan look. “What else do you ask advice on?”

He opened and then shut his mouth. Good point. He sighed and put down the half empty bag of chips. “This is going to sound so weird and stupid. But uh, Bernie asked to cuddle last night.”

Ingrid almost dropped the jar of salsa. “Wait, what? Context please.”

Sylvain went through a quick rundown of the events of the past couple of nights, making sure to gloss over how it was related to Miklan.

Ingrid leaned against the counter and crossed her arms. “Alright, from what it sounds like, she was asking you to cuddle because it seemed to help you sleep.”

“Yeah, I’m not really sure how to take that.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s been an awkward morning to say in the least.”

“Ah, that explains the tension between you two. Oh come on Sylvain, normally you’re always sitting close to her or hovering near her. You also minimally acknowledged her today. It doesn’t take much to figure out something is going there.”

Damn, he didn’t realize how obvious it was. Or maybe it was just obvious to Ingrid. She was very observant. “So what should I do?”

“Cuddle with her? Seriously I didn’t think I would have to spell it out for you.”

“What? No, I can’t do that!”

She frowned. “Why not? You want to, right?”

Sylvain blushed. “I do but she’s….she’s Bernie. I can’t cuddle with her, I don’t want to do anything like _that_ with her.”

“Anything like what?”

“Ingrid, I can’t even think about it, saying it would make it grosser okay?”

“I’m so lost.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Please talk like a normal person for once, please?”

He wrinkled his nose. Just even having those words on the tip of his tongue made his stomach curl into itself. He leaned in close to Ingrid and whispered under his breath. “Have sex with Bernie.”

Ingrid stared at him with a blank expression. “Huh?”

“I said it and I am not repeating it. Ugh, I feel like I need to soap out my mouth after saying that.” He looked at the dish soap by the sink. “You that will be safe to gargle my mouth with?”

“Don’t do it Sylvain, I really don’t want to have to take you to ER for being an idiot.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I’m just….okay, that’s a lot to process. But from what I can gather…Sylvain, do you really think you can only cuddle if you have sex with someone?”

“I mean, yeah? A couple girls want to do it after the fact? Okay, you asked, you can’t make that face!”

“I did walk into that one. But let me give you some wisdom. You don’t need to have sex with a girl to cuddle with her. You can do it platonically, just for the sake of cuddling. Same thing with hugging. If the intent is clear, she won’t take it the wrong way. And from what I know with how you and Bernie interact, she won’t take it that way. This is all on you. It’s because you have associated cuddling with sexual intimacy that you’re in this mess.”

Sylvain opened and then shut his mouth. Wait, that…happened? “So…the fact that I want to just cuddle with her isn’t odd?”

Ingrid shook her head. “You just want to be physically affectionate with her, that’s all. There’s nothing wrong with that. And if both of you are in agreement just do it?”

Sylvain leaned against the counter, turning this revelation over and over again in his mind. “Do…do people really, _really_ just do that Ingrid? You aren’t pulling my leg right?”

Ingrid sighed. “I’m not, Sylvain, really. You can be affectionate to a girl without wanting to have sex with her.” She thought for a moment. “It’s like how I sometimes will grab Felix or Dimitri’s arm or lean over them. It’s the same thing. Do you think I want to do anything with them?”

“Of course not.” He had seen how Ingrid was around Glenn as compared to those two. Despite how similar the touches were, there was a different vibe whenever she interacted with Glenn compared to Dimitri and Felix. “Wait, how come you are never like that with me.”

Ingrid raised an eyebrow. “You hit on my poor grandmother when we were kids! Of course I wasn’t going to be physically affectionate with you.” She sighed. “Although maybe if I was you wouldn’t be in this mess so I guess it’s partly my fault.”

“It’s okay Ingrid.” Sylvain shoved his hands in his pockets, still mulling over everything she said. That was a lot to think about. “Thanks for giving me some advice.”

“No problem. Now, let’s get these snacks out there before they start wondering where we’ve been.”

***

By the time Sylvain and Bernie went back to his home, it was incredibly late, close to midnight. It had been a fun day filled with games and random conversations about school. Bernie was quiet like usual but he could tell she was having a good time by the way she responded whenever a question was asked of her. It also seemed like she caught onto Glenn’s abrasive nature before long, as she rolled her eyes and ignored him if he said anything too out of place.

“I guess it’s best to not attempt to get farther in TMS tonight,” said Bernie. “The next section is going to take a while.”

“Is it? Darn.” Sylvain sighed. They were nearing the end of the game, all the plot points finally coming together. He really wanted to see where it would go next but it looked like that would have to wait until tomorrow if anything.

“So uh, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then,” she said as they stopped in front of her room.

“Yeah, tomorrow.” He rubbed the back of his neck and stared at the oak door of Bernie’s room and thought of his conversation with Ingrid. For the rest of the day he had mulled over her words in the back of his mind. It was okay, right? “Uh, Bernie? I know this’ll be weird to ask, especially after yesterday but I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep well tonight and I really don’t like taking sleeping pills two days in a row.”

“Oh, okay.” She looked at him nervously.

Damn, he was such a smooth talker with any girl but Bernie! “So uh,” he stammered, “I was wondering if we could share a bed? That should help me sleep. No pressure on you though! None at all! I just wanted to offer.”

“Uh, sure…if you want to?” Despite her words, she looked incredibly hesitant.

“I don’t want to make you feel weird about it and you don’t have to accept if you don’t want to,” he said quickly. “I just thought that maybe we could try it tonight…” He groaned. “I’m doing this whole conversation wrong.”

He took a deep breath before speaking. “I was an ass yesterday and I’m sorry Bernie. I was just thinking about it a little too much and putting too much into it.” He sighed, his cheeks turning red as he looked at the ground and murmured. “I really want to cuddle tonight Bernie.”

Gah, he never realized how embarrassing saying that could be! Him, who could say raunchy things to girls without batting an eye was blushing in embarrassment asking Bernie to cuddle! What kind of parallel universe was this!?

“Uh, sure.” He looked up in surprise. Bernie was staring down at her own feet, her own face slightly red. “We…should probably get ready for bed first…”

“Oh, yeah. That’ll make sense.” He cleared his throat. “I’ll be over soon then?”

She nodded. “Okay…”

Almost robotically, Sylvain hurried to his room. Holy crap, what in the world was he doing? What was happening!? He quickly jumped into the shower to get off the stink of the day. Crap, what should he wear? The pants were the easy part but he was definitely going to wear a shirt, like the other time he spent in her bed. No need to make this more confusing for him(although he did cuddle those other girls naked anyway). In the end, he went with one of his old t-shirts, one that felt soft to his fingers, he wanted her to be comfortable after all.

Ugh. Should he do anything else? He ran his fingers through his hair and checked to make sure everything was in place in the mirror. Cologne? No way, they were going to be cuddling in bed and going to sleep, that’s all.

“Remember, cuddling doesn’t have to be connected to sex,” he reminded his mirror self.

Knowing he couldn’t keep her waiting forever, he left his room and walked down to hers and knocked on the door. “Bernie?”

“Come in!” came her muffled voice through the door.

He took a deep breath and opened it. Bernie was sitting on the bed, her laptop in her lap and her fingers were flying across the keyboard. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “Just want to get this scene done.”

“Sure.” He awkwardly sat on the other end of the bed and watched her out of the corner of his eye. This was his first time seeing her write and it was interesting to see that her facial expression shift as she wrote. Apparently It was something serious as her eyes widen one moment and then shift to a frown the next and then change to one of horror.

She sighed and stopped typing furiously and clicked the save shortcut a few times. “Sorry about that Sylvain, it just wanted to come out and I don’t want to let it pass.”

“It’s cool, don’t worry about it Bernie.”

She set the laptop on the bedside table and turned to him. “Uh, so…how should we?”

“I thought you had a plan?” He looked at her in disbelief.

She looked down at her lap. “Well, that was my first time doing anything like that…when I did it last time I mean.”

Oh.

He cleared his throat and pushed back the covers and laid down after turning off the light next to him. “Come here. If this is too weird, we can totally stop.”

“It’s okay if it helps you sleep…” she murmured as she crawled over to him.

All he could think of was how awkward it was to put his arms around her and pull her to his chest. However then he thought about how right he had been. She fit perfectly. Small enough that her head rested comfortably on his chest and he could keep his arms around her without touching any place he shouldn’t be.

“You okay?” he murmured into the top of her head.

“Fine,” she whispered back. “You’re really warm Sylvain.”

“Apparently I’m very warm blooded,” he said with a laugh. “When we were younger, my friends would huddle around me for warmth in the winter. It can get really cold. I can let go if it’s too warm?”

He felt rather than saw her shake her head. “It’s fine.”

He shifted slightly in place but after the initial awkward period passed, it was strangely comforting. They didn’t talk, it didn’t seem like they had to. After a couple moments of debating, he carefully lifted a hand and rested it on the back of Bernie’s head, gentling running his fingers through her hair.

Before long, his eyes began to close, Bernie’s warmth seeping into him and sleep overtook him quickly for the first time in a couple of days.


	24. Chapter 24

Bernadetta expected Sylvain to fall asleep quickly, just not that quickly. They had to have been cuddling for only fifteen minutes top and his breath had already evened out and a quick glance up at his face and a squint in the darkness, she could make out that he most likely had his eyes closed.

Sure Sylvain was like sleeping on a warm heater and she was one of those people that liked being warm while asleep but it would take her way longer to fall asleep in general, especially since her brain never really liked to shut up.

She was happy that he was able to sleep quickly but his sudden shift in wanting to do it was odd. Maybe he talked to one of his friends when they were over there? Well either way, she was still shocked that she managed to agree to this and end up cuddling with Sylvain without freaking out. But he had been courtesy and it was just so comfy and warm here…

Her eyes closed as sleep overtook her.

***

 _The dream began with Bernadetta in the middle of a burning hill. She clutched her bow tightly in hand, her clothing purple and accented in gold. Her hair was also sleeker and long in the back. She coughed, the smoke getting into her lungs, the fires nipping on her heels. A trap that had been sprung by_ her _._

_Lure a portion of the enemy army to this hill and then set it aflame. A brilliant strategy that Bernadetta didn't like being on the receiving end of._

_She coughed again and fell to her knees. She needed to get moving. Either the smoke or the fire would get her. There was a single path that was a bit clear and she stumbled to her feet and began heading in that direction. Her head was starting to spin, the air way too hot._

_A neigh from in front of her and she squinted, barely able to make out a rider on horseback approaching. It was too smokey to tell what banner the rider had on the side of the horse._

_With an unsteady hand, she pulled an arrow from the quiver and rested it on her bow. She needed to lift up her hands and aim it at the rider. She coughed again, the smoke definitely permeating her lungs._

_“Bernie?”_

_The rider was upon her and he looked down at her with wide, shocked brown eyes. Sylvain. Like her, he looked different, his red hair arranged in a different style, and he was clad in silver armor._

_Thank Seiros it was him._

_She let out another hacking cough, falling to her knees._

_Sylvain let out a few curses and jumped off his horse. “Hold on Bernie!” He gently picked her up and set her on the horse before climbing up behind her. He had one arm around her, her head leaning against his chest armor as he turned the horse around and headed down and away from the hill._

_She looked up at his face and blinked slowly, her vision blurring on the edges. He looked different than the Sylvain she knew when she was awake. There were a few faint scars, his eyes holding weight and horror._

_“Bernie, hey, stay with me okay!?” Every couple of seconds he looked down at her, panic and fear clear in his expression. And was that desperation as well? Maybe, her brain wasn’t working as fast as it usually did. “You’re going to be okay but you need to stay awake. Mercedes can heal you.”_

_She coughed, her lungs hurting. He was definitely still talking but the words just wouldn’t register. His armor was cool against the side of her face, nothing like the burning in her sides and feet. Maybe she could just a take little nap. She would definitely feel better when she woke up._

***

Bernadetta jerked out of the dream with a shocked gasp. Her heart pounded hard against her ribcage and her breathes came out in short ragged gasps. Her body also seemed to be drenched in sweat, her hands shaking. She could barely breathe and she pulled away from Sylvain and sat upright, her hands over her mouth to try and silence her loud wheezing.

The dream felt so real, unnaturally so, to the point that it felt like she could still feel the heat from those flames and how it scorched her lungs. Her sides and feet ached from phantom burns.

“Bernie!?” Sylvain seemed to have woken up from her wheezing. For a moment, sleep glazed his eyes but then next he was alert and he sat upright, concern etched in his expression. “Hey, you okay? Okay, that was a dumb question, obviously not. What do you need?”

She shook her head and tried to focus on getting her breathing under control. Her grounding exercises weren’t working, she could barely string two thoughts together to even do them.

He reached for her, hesitated a moment and then shook his head and put his arm around her in a side hug and began gently rubbing her arm.

She leaned into his side and continued to struggle through the panic attack. The fear of dying was flaring in her. What if she never got her breathe under control? What if she had a heart attack here and now? What if? What if?

However Sylvain was warm, his touch comforting. It didn’t do much to abate the symptoms but the fact that he was here, holding her, gave her a small sense of safety.

Like all her panic attacks, her breathing finally seemed to slow back to normal, her body barely able to hold herself upright as the adrenaline rush finally crashed. Realizing that she was leaning her weight into Sylvain, she shifted upright and pulled away slightly. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “I probably woke you.”

He shook his head. “It’s okay. How are you doing though? That sounded…” He paused and seemed to be searching for a word.

“Bad? Yeah, I haven’t had one that bad in a long time. Especially nighttime panic attacks.” She rubbed her eyes and checked her phone for the time. Eight in the morning. Well, a reasonable time to get up at least since there was probably no way she was going to be able to sleep after that.

“Do you have nighttime panic attacks often?” He frowned.

She shook her head. “Not really. I think it happened because of my dream…”

“A dream? What kind of dream? I mean you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“I can barely remember it right now. It was something with a fire.” And she had the distinct impression that Sylvain was in it, although he looked different. Older. She could clearly picturing her looking up at him, his expression full of panic and fear. That was incredibly strange that it stuck with her of all things. Also weird that she was dreaming of an older version of Sylvain.

“A fire? Well that sounds scary.” He rubbed her arm a few more times. “You okay now though? You need anything? Should we go get some breakfast?”

Her stomach was a little out of sorts that she really didn’t know if she would be able to eat but she knew she had to get some sort of substance in her body. “Yeah, some food should help.”

***

Sylvain kept one eye on the eggs cooking on the stove and the other on Bernie. She sat at the kitchen island, a steaming cup of hot chocolate in hand. While he felt well rested, Bernie looked like she had not slept in days, her shoulders slumped as if the weight of the world was on her.

Although maybe he should not be surprised. When he had woken up and saw her sitting there, wheezing with wide eyes, he was frightened that she was having a heart attack or something else that was life-threatening. At first he wasn’t going to hug her but he remembered Ingrid’s words and how it was okay to do so and she wouldn’t get the wrong idea. He didn’t know if it helped but he hoped that the comfort did help her calm down faster.

“Oh yeah, I never asked you, how do you like your eggs?”

“Scrambled is fine.”

“Scrambled it is then! Toast good too?” He grabbed the bread out of the fridge and popped two into the toaster.

“I never expected you to be good at cooking,” she commented.

“Hey now, I have some life skills, I’m not that pathetic!”

“Oh, I didn’t mean…”

He waved her concern away. “I didn’t mean anything by it, it was a joke.” Truthfully, he learned how to cook basic things to impress the ladies. Plus being able to drop the “how do you like your eggs?” in the morning and actually go through with making the eggs made a couple of them more willing to sleep with him again.

Hang on, the fact that he was making eggs for Bernie along that line of thought was incredibly weird.

He put the eggs and toast on a plate and put it in front of Bernie along with the basket of jams and jellies. “One Sylvain breakfast special. You can eat right away, you don’t need to wait for me.” He cracked two more eggs and threw it into the pan for himself.

“It’s okay, I’ll wait.”

Once Sylvain got his plate of food cooked up, he joined her on the island. As he put strawberry jam on his toast, he kept an eye on her. As she was eating, it looked like the color was coming back to her face. Good.

“So, what’s the plan for today? Some TMS?” He caught her slight twitch at the mention of playing the game. “We don’t have to do that if you don’t want to. There’s plenty of things to do around town.”

“Huh? Oh, no, TMS is fine…”

Sylvain frowned. She didn’t sound that convincing. “Bernie, if you don’t want to play, we don’t have to play. We can do something else? What do you usually do after something…like that?”

She poked her eggs with the fork. “Well, I usually hermit for a few hours…”

Hermit? “Oh, so you want to be left alone?”

Bernie’s eyes widen. “It’s not like it’s not fun hanging around you Sylvain. I didn’t mean…”

He waved her concern away. “It’s fine. Felix gets that way sometimes too. And I guess we have been around each other twenty-four seven almost all break. If you want to hermit, that’s fine too! I can go out and run errands and stuff. The chef should be in for lunch so you can get food if you want.”

“I’m sorry Sylvain,” she murmured.

“It’s fine Bernie! Really. But if you need anything, text me okay?”

“Okay. Umm, we could play TMS tonight though? Late afternoon? Around five?”

Sylvain nodded and gave her a wide smile. “Sure. Let’s do that.”

She mirrored his smile and her shoulders seemed to relax slightly. “We…we should be able to finish the game tonight if all goes well.”

“Seriously? Well I can’t wait then! Hang on, are you going to make me fight the final boss?”

“Maybe?”

“Why must you enjoy watching me suffer?” He playfully shook his head.

After breakfast was finished up, and Bernie insisted on washing the dishes(since Sylvain cooked), she retreated to her room and Sylvain wandered into the living room, wondering what the heck he was going to do with himself for the next couple of hours. Unlike Bernie, he thrived being around people.

Pulling out his phone, he began wandering through his “special” contacts. Usually he hit up one or two of them when he was home and he did have a couple hours to himself. And he was feeling much better after cuddling with Bernie so it wasn’t like this would be a way to suppress and cope with his emotions.

Shrugging, he texted one to see if she was free for a bit. She replied almost instantly that she was and if she could come over to his place if his parents weren’t around.

Heck no.

He texted back he would come to her and headed for his room to get ready. He wondered if it would be better to knock on Bernie’s door and tell her he was going out or if it was better to text her. Probably texting. He didn’t know how Bernie hermitted but she probably didn’t want any human interaction at all right now.

Before he headed out, he sent her a text to let her know he would be gone and if she wanted him to pick up anything while he was out. She texted back to acknowledge she saw it and said she didn’t need anything.


	25. Chapter 25

Bernadetta’s fingers were starting to cramp from the amount of typing she had done in a short period of time. She paused for a moment and cracked her fingers as she stared at words that flew out of her head and onto the page.

At first she spent her time alone watching random videos but the itch to write in the back of her mind became too great and her fingers tingled, begging her to put the words on the page. She gave in and opened the doc with her current project and began typing at a furious pace. Why inspiration hit her now, she had no idea but she was going to take it. Maybe it was the dream from last night. She didn’t remember too much about the context but the idea of margrave Silvanus saving count Bernarde from a fire really added a dramatic element to the story.

After rolling her shoulders, she quickly got back to work. Silavnus might have saved Bernarde from the fire but she was severely injured and needed to see a healer otherwise her life was in danger. It was time to write in a lot of angst.

***

Sylvain walked into the house with two boxes of pizza along with a container of breadsticks and a box of chicken wings. The house was surprisingly dark, he had told the house staff to go home early today. If they were going to finish _Tokyo Mirage Session_ tonight, he wanted to celebrate and use the biggest TV in the house, the one in the family room. Also his parents wouldn’t get mad if they ate food in there.

He entered the kitchen and set everything on the island for the moment before flicking on the light. A plate of sandwiches sat on the counter, wrapped in saran wrap. He frowned as he stared at it. It was obviously the chef’s food, most likely what was made for Bernie to eat for lunch. Did she not eat?

He walked to her room, turning on all the lights as he went. Her door was shut tight and from the crack under the door, the room was dark. He frowned, fear slowly creeping to the back of his mind. He knocked on the door a few times. “Bernie?”

No response.

His heart rate started to speed up and he remembered how she wheezed for air this morning. What if something happened? What if it wasn’t a panic attack at all but something else, something even more serious? What if she collapsed in her room and that’s why she hadn’t left her room all day?

“Bernie?” He tried the doorknob and sighed in relief that it wasn’t locked.

The room was dark except for the backlight of her laptop. Bernie’s face was illuminated in it, the furious tapping of her fingers on the keyboard incredibly loud in the silent room.

“Bernie?” he tried again, this time much louder.

She paused and looked in his direction and a small shriek left her mouth.

It was so loud and jarring that Sylvain had to look behind him to make sure there wasn’t an axe murderer standing back there. “It’s only me Bernie!”

“Oh, Sylvain? You’re back already? Wow…my room is really dark.”

“Yes it is. You know you really shouldn’t have the light off when you are at your laptop. Close your eyes, I’ll turn on the light.” After giving her a moment, he flicked on the light switch.

Bernie had her hands over her eyes and she slowly pulled them away as her eyes adjusted to the light in the room.

“Were you really writing for the past eight hours?” He approached the bed.

She stiffly moved. “Maybe a bit.” She rubbed her eyes and then paused. “Wait, eight hours?” She glanced at her phone. “Holy crap, it’s already seven?!”

“Yeah, it’s already seven.” Sylvain rolled his eyes. “I texted you to let you know I got pizza for dinner. Thought we could play in the family room to celebrate the end of TMS?” He frowned. “Although you were staring at a screen all day…”

“It’ll be fine. Wow, I’m starving.”

“Yeah, lunch was untouched. What in the world were you writing that you lost focus on everything?” He went to peer at her screen.

She let out a loud screech and covered the screen with her hands. “Don’t look Sylvain!”

He backed up, shocked by her tone.

“S…sorry, it’s not ready yet,” she stammered, closing her laptop. “It’s an original work, I’m more picky with it and it’s only the first draft and I haven’t done the first round of editing yet and it’s probably super bad…”

“No, it’s okay. I get it.” He awkwardly rested his hand on the back of his neck. “My fault for trying to look at it too soon. But I know it’ll be great once you’re done with it.”

“I hope so,” she murmured. She smiled and hopped off the bed. “I’ll get the switch and dock. I’m also starving…”

“I wonder why.” He rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I got a veggie lover all for you and cheese for myself. You can take some of my pizza if you want. Also got chicken wings and breadsticks.”

“That’s a lot of food for the two of us.”

“Well, if you’re going to make me fight the final boss, it’s going to take a while, so I thought we would need enough food to last us the night.”

Bernie giggled as she followed him into the family room. While she set up the dock and switch, he went to bring the food into the family room along with different types of organic juices and sodas from the fridge. “It’s like we have our own mini party.”

“Kind of, yeah.” Watching Bernie turn on the game and load up the file, he had to smile. She seemed to be back to the Bernie he knew. Despite the fact she had been writing for eight hours, she didn’t seem tired, in fact she seemed even more energized.

She sat down on the floor next to him and handed him the controller before grabbing two slices of pizza for herself. “Good luck Sylvain.”

He rolled his eyes and squared his shoulders. “Let’s do this.”

***

“So?” asked Bernadetta as the credits rolled.

“That was…I was not expecting them to have a musical number at the end to be honest. And that boss fight…” He shook his head. “It was so hard! I told you that you should have just done it for me Bernie! We could have saved a whole hour of me struggling.”

“It was funny though,” she pointed out.

Sylvain pouted. “Maybe for you but I was suffering over here. But other than that, it was a good ending! Although I like how they never really explained why Chrom became so edgy in this world. Maybe his Robin left him or something.” He got up and grabbed the pizza boxes. There were a few slices left along with a lone breadstick. “Guess we have lunch for tomorrow.”

“I guess so.” Bernadetta followed him into the kitchen with the cups and drinks.

After everything was cleaned up and put away, Sylvain looked at the large clock on the wall. “It’s only ten. You want to watch a movie or something? My family has every single streaming platform under the sun.”

Bernadetta nodded. “Sure.”

“Cool. I’ll get the popcorn ready!”

“We’re going to have popcorn after all that food?” She had to giggle at the look of disbelief he gave her.

“I mean, you can’t watch a movie without popcorn? Let’s see, we got movie theater style, regular, kettle, extra butter…”

“Extra butter sounds good.”

“Extra butter it is.” Sylvain put in the microwave and turned it on.

“I’m sorry for having to hermit today Sylvain.” Bernadetta looked down at the wood floor and shuffled her feet. “We only have two days left until we have to go back and I made us waste a day.”

“It’s fine, really Bernie. Like I said before, I get it. And besides, it looks like you were really into writing there.”

“Uh yeah.” She blushed and looked to the side. “Sometimes I just get the urge to write and when that happens it’s best to just give in and write.”

He looked at her curiously. “What do you mean by an urge?”

She shoved him her hands. “I get a weird tingly feeling on my fingers but it’s not really tingly. It’s like there’s phantom limbs there, and it aches until I write, oh it’s hard to explain. But it happens when I’m super inspired and my brain can’t ignore the idea so I have to write it otherwise it’s just stuck in my head and it’s really hard for me to focus on anything else.”

“That sounds cool, yet annoying at the same time.”

“Sort of. What did you do all day Sylvain? Besides getting pizza I mean.”

“Oh, just out,” he said. “Visited a friend in town for a few hours, nothing big.”

“Oh, I’m sorry Sylvain.”

“For what?” Sylvain opened the microwave as it dinged. He opened the bag and poured the popcorn into a large bowl.

“That you aren’t able to see your friends in town because of me.” Bernie looked to the ground.

“What? No. It’s fine. Really Bernie. The friends I really care about besides you are Ingrid, Felix and Dimitri and I see them at school all the time. Anyone else here isn’t…that important.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. Now come on, we have a movie to watch!”

Back in the living room, Sylvain sat on the couch, the popcorn in his lap and Bernie sat next to him, her legs curled under her.

“So? What are we in the mood for? Action? Drama? Romcom?”

“Why don’t you pick?” offered Bernadetta. “We did TMS, which was my game so you can pick what movie to watch.”

“Okay, but you get the final say Bernie. Oh look, didn’t know the latest Swift and the Enraged was on here. Want to go with that?”

“Sure.” Bernadetta hadn’t seen the other ones but from what she knew apparently this series didn’t have much of a plot and had more explosions and racing? Sylvain appeared to really want to see it and that was fine with her.

She reached over and grabbed some of the popcorn from the bowl before settling back in her spot to enjoy the movie.

Sylvain rested his arm on the back of the couch as the movie began. Bernadetta had zero context for anything, she barely knew the actors in this movie to begin with. Sylvain seemed to be enjoying it though, as his eyes brightened and sparkled and he let out a gasp as a plot twist happened early on in the movie that was related to the previous movie.

It was cute and adorable and she felt like she didn’t see much of this side of him. From what she was able to gather of his personality, it seemed like he was used to catering his interests to others rather than letting his interests shine through. If he felt safe enough to show off his interests to Bernadetta, well she needed to nurture that right? Even if she had no idea why the characters were racing cars near a train and why in the world were there explosions!?

As the movie went on, she shifted closer to Sylvain, mostly to get to the popcorn but soon enough she was leaning against his side, her head resting on his shoulder. He moved his arm from the back of the couch and put it around her.

She sniffed, getting a different scent from Sylvain. “Wait, why do you smell like lavender?”

She felt him flinch. “Well, that’s…”

She glanced up at him, wondering why he was stuttering so much. Oh wait, maybe it was weird that she commented on it? “I didn’t mean to make it sound weird. It’s just from cuddling yesterday and the day before you smelled different?” Sylvain always seemed to have a distinct warm wood-like smell to him and this was throwing her off slightly. “I mean, you were out so I guess that makes sense but…”

“I was out to see a girl,” he said quietly.

She blinked. “A girl?” What did seeing a girl have to do with anything-oh wait. “So you went to sleep with a girl,” she corrected.

“Yeah. I showered at her place afterwards. Didn’t want to come back here with…” He cleared his throat. “Well, I showered there so I had to use her stuff. You aren’t mad right?” he asked quietly.

“Why would I be mad? We’re friends Sylvian. It’s not like it’s insulting to me? That’s just the kind of person you are.” She shrugged. “I’ve told you before that it doesn’t matter to me?”

She yelped as Sylvain put his other arm around her and squeezed her tight while resting his head on top of hers. “And this is why you’re awesome Bernie.”

“Sylvain, you’re squeezing so tight! And the popcorn is going to fall on the floor!”

He released her but kept the same arm around her shoulders as before. “But really, thanks Bernie,” he said softly. “For accepting the kind of person I am.”

“Well yeah, we are friends after all.” She leaned against him and tried to figure out what in the world was happening in the movie.

***

Bernie was awesome.

There was no other way Sylvain could put it. Sure Ingrid didn’t care too much about his antics but she was a childhood friend, she was _different_. Bernie was a friend he made less than a year ago and she was definitely like none of the girls he normally hung out with. Those girls would flip out if they caught scent of another girl’s stuff on him. There was a reason why he usually carried cologne with him.

She just accepted it and stayed cuddled next to him, obviously putting her full trust in him. He really didn’t deserve to have a friend like her.

She shifted slightly and Sylvain glanced down to make sure she was able to get into a comfortable position and noticed her eyes were closed and her breathing regular.

No way, she had fallen asleep!? But the movie was getting good! It had finally gotten to the crazy helicopter scene from the trailers! Well, maybe he couldn’t blame her. She did wake up early this morning and she had been writing all day. That had to have exhausted her, right?

He quickly shifted her position as she was starting to dangerously tether forward. “Bernie, your warm pillow is right here,” he murmured. He knew he would need to wake her in a bit so she could sleep in her bed but there was still half an hour of the movie left. He could let her sleep for a little longer.


	26. Chapter 26

Bernadetta fired an arrow and had to smile as it hit dead-center on the distant target.

“You’re always so good Bernie,” sighed Ashe from next to her. “Are you sure you weren’t practicing over spring break?”

She shook her head. “No, I was out of town, no time for archery practice.” Unless axe throwing counted.

The last full day they had, Sylvain took her to an axe throwing place. Axes were slightly different than arrows but she got the hang out of it quickly while Sylvain’s throws were not as great, even by the end of it.. They had also started a drama that evening and Bernadetta didn’t realize how much fun it could be to make fun of the characters and the ridiculousness of the plot. The plan was to continue it the next time they hung out.

After practice, and the field cleaned up, Ashe and Bernadetta headed for the student center to have dinner. Or at least that was the plan until a man dressed in a suit approached them.

“Ms. Varley, if you would come with me please, your father has requested you join him for dinner.”

Bernadetta froze. What in the world was this? Henrick had never done this before.

Ashe sighed. “Darn, maybe we can get dinner another time Bernie. After Thursday’s practice maybe?”

“Uh huh…” She wrung her hands together. How could she get out of this?

“Your father wants to meet with you alone,” corrected the man.

Alone? What was going on here? If she was alone in her room, she would have attempted to escape but they were in public and if she made a scene, _everyone_ would stare at her and Ashe might think of her as a weirdo. So she did the only thing she could do.

She meekly followed him to the car.

***

Bernadetta took a bite of her salmon, the buttery sauce barely registering on her tongue. Like always, Henrick wanted to meet her at a high end restaurant. Thankfully, he chose to get a private room but she had to endure all the stares on the way here. Just coming out of archery practice, she was definitely not dressed for a fancy place like this.

“I’ve heard you spent spring break at the Gautier home.”

Bernadetta froze. “Ummm, I…”

He rolled his eyes and Bernadetta could feel the disappointment radiating off him. “I do not care if you chose to spend your time with that Gautier boy. In fact, it’s probably better that you keep him hooked….somehow.”

Oh crap. She had almost forgotten that they were “dating”, at least in Henrick’s eyes.

“However, I feel like I must warn you Bernadetta. This boy is slightly…unsavory.”

Unsavory? What in the world did he mean by that?

Snapping his fingers, one of Henrick’s men stepped forward with a manilla envelope. He took out a few pieces of paper and showed it to Bernadetta. Glancing at them, she saw it was pictures from Sylvain’s social media. Ones with him showing off his body or posing seductively or one where he had his arm around a girl.

“He is the type of man that appears to not care about the…company he keeps or his presentation online. I would rather not my daughter be subjected to this man’s whims and then tossed on the side when he’s done with you.” Henrick’s eyes narrowed. “He has also continued to post pictures like this after our meeting last time.”

“I’m… uh aware,” she stammered.

“You’re what? You were aware of this behavior and yet you still remain with that boy?” Henrick rubbed the bridge of his nose. “You’re a Varley for crying out loud, have some dignity in yourself. Just because a boy pays you attention for the first time in your life, you don’t have to stick with him.” He scoffed. “I do not want to get a phone call that you ended up pregnant and he abandoned you and I’m stuck cleaning up that mess.”

Bernadetta’s face burned. She was well aware that Sylvain was very careful with using protection so nothing like that would happen. Just from their conversations, it seemed like kids was not something he was dying to have anytime soon. And the idea of her having kids was just weird in general. Especially Sylvain? No way. There was no way that was ever going to happen and it was gross to even think about.

“He…he wouldn’t,” she managed to get out, knowing it wasn’t much of an excuse.

“For the love of Seiros, why must you defend that boy like this? I’ve seen his type before, they do not care about anyone but themselves and they just jump from one relationship to the next. I’m surprised he somehow managed to keep you around for so long but it is probably because you are ignoring the facts in front of you. That boy isn’t loyal and he will never be. Get out of this relationship. I’ll set you up with more reputable men.”

She shook her head. “N…No, I want to…”

Henrick glared at her. “How in the world did I end up with a spineless daughter like you? First you want to be an editor, which fine, it’s something, at least you can fend for yourself but you end up with a boy that will use you and toss you to the side when he’s done. How far do you want our reputation to drop!?”

Bernadetta stared at her food miserably, not really able to think of anything to say against it.

Henrick let out a long sigh. “Anyway, give me an update on your coursework. Have you signed up for classes next semester? When is payment due?”

***

Bernadetta opened the door to her dorm room, misery seeping off her. Like always, her dad never seemed to get that she couldn’t quickly switch tactics from one thing to the next, her brain continuing to go over the fact that he had wanted her to stop hanging out with Sylvain. Well, date Sylvain, which wasn’t what they were doing in the first place but she couldn’t tell him that.

She rested her phone on the bedside table, noting that she had a few unread messages but she ignored them as she crawled into bed and hid under her covers.


	27. Chapter 27

“Has Bernie been responding to any of your messages?” asked Sylvain.

Felix looked at him annoyed. “Huh?”

“She didn’t reply to the text I sent her last night and it’s almost been eighteen hours…”

“Maybe she’s busy?”

“Maybe but she usually will tell me ahead of time if so.” Sylvain looked at his last message in their text chat in concern. He had found another weird statue on campus, this one of a crazy bull and he had Dimitri take a picture of Sylvain being “impaled” on one of the horns. It was cute and funny and Dimitri’s shaky camerawork just added to the effect. He knew she would have loved it but she hadn’t sent a reply, not even a “lol”. It really wasn’t like her.

“You think it would be weird to text her again?”

“Probably not?” Felix rolled his eyes. “What kind of parallel world are we in that I need to give you advice on how to talk to a girl? Isn’t this something to ask Ingrid?”

“I could but she’s busy today. There’s a horse club thing going on!” Noticing the professor was walking into the classroom, he quickly sent a text to Bernie asking if she got the previous message and if not, he’ll send it again.

It was a business class and boring like always. Sylvain had read ahead in the textbook so he already knew what the professor was droning on about. What worried him was he didn’t feel his phone go off at any point during class. Weird since he knew Bernie didn’t have class right now or club and she would always respond right away.

“Why don’t you stop by her room or something if you’re so worried,” put in Felix when class ended.

“Would it be weird for me to do that?”

Felix shrugged. “I mean, I visit Annette all the time and sometimes drop by unannounced. She doesn’t seem to mind.”

Getting Felix’s blessing, Sylvain headed for Bernie’s dorm building after sending her a quick text that he was coming over just to check up on her since she didn’t respond to his previous texts.

There was no response to that text either.

This was really not like Bernie.

The elevator dinged to say he was on the correct floor and he walked out into the familiar hallway. Ah, the doors were now decorated with spring themed flowers. How cute. He stopped in front of Bernie’s door and knocked.

No response.

He knocked again.

Maybe she wasn’t in her room? Where could she be though? He heard something shuffle inside. Oh! Maybe she was in her room after all.

His usual bright smile slipped as Bernie opened the door a crack, barely enough room for him to make out her face. Her room was dark, the curtains closed tight. Her quilt was around her shoulders and it was half dragging on the ground. Her hair was a frazzled mess, dark circles under puffy eyes.

“Sylvain…” she said, her voice hoarse.

He held up his phone. “You weren’t responding to my texts, I was worried.”

“Oh. Right.” She turned to look at something behind her, her movement so slow and deliberate. “I had my phone on silent.”

“Bernie, did you go to class today?”

“Class? Oh, right, there were classes today. I…I didn’t feel like it. There were too many people.”

“Can I come in?” He realized that it was probably best to not have this conversation in the hallway.

“Oh, right…” She backed up a few steps and Sylvain walked into the room and shut the door tight behind him.

“You mind if I turn on the light? It’s pretty dark in here.”

“Sure.”

Sylvain flicked on the light switch and it just exasperated Bernie’s dark circles. She also seemed to be sinking into herself, the quilt looking like it was going to consume her on a moment’s notice.

After kicking off his shoes, he sat on the fluffy rug and gestured for Bernie to sit next to him. Thankfully she complied and he put his arms around her, quilt and all and rested his head on top of hers. For a moment she didn’t move but the next, she shifted and buried her face into Sylvain’s chest, her hands clutching at his shirt.

It took him a moment to find her back under the quilt and he rubbed lazy circles as she cried. “Sorry,” she mumbled after her sobs subsided. “Your shirt is a mess now…”

Sylvain shrugged. “It’s whatever. You okay though?”

“I guess…” she murmured. “I had dinner with my dad yesterday.”

Sylvain had to temper back his anger as Bernie explained everything that happened. That son of a bitch, why would he say stuff like that to her!? Sure, he could see where the comments about Sylvain’s reputation were coming from but to insult Bernie on top of it!? How could he say that kind of stuff to her!?

“Bernie, you aren’t spineless, you are one of the bravest, kindest people I know and if he doesn’t see that, it’s his loss. Although I know how much words can hurt and I hope one day you’ll be able to ignore his words and see yourself for what you actually are.”

“Maybe…” she murmured.

“You will, I know it. I’ll bet my family name on it.”

She looked up at him and a hint of her usual smile crossed her face. “Thank you Sylvain.”

He grinned down at her. “What are friends for? You want me to get you some dinner? When was the last time you ate?”

“I had a few granola bars this morning,” she mumbled.

He bit back a comment on how she needed to eat better. This was not the time for something like that. “Alright, it sounds like you need some actual food. I’ll go bring you some. What are you in the mood for?”

She shook her head. “Nothing really.”

“Nothing at all?” He frowned. “You gotta give me something otherwise I’m coming back with two gallons of ice cream.”

“You wouldn’t.”

He rolled his eyes. “You want to try me?” He released her and wrapped the quilt tight around her so she looked like a cute Bernie burrito. A Berrito. He had to smile at the thought. “I’ll figure something out, I’ll be right back okay?”

The Berrito nodded to him. “Okay,” she whispered.

***

Bernie stayed curled up on the floor where Sylvain had left her. Her thoughts had been a massive dark cloud that hung over her mind, pressing down on her limbs and head. The words Henrick had said repeated over and over again, each time getting bigger and bigger, the words getting harsher and harsher. If it was anyone else but her dad she was able to handle these words. Him though, it always seemed to bring out the worst, his words always making her feel like she was drowning.

Sylvain had helped a lot. With his bright smile and that warm tight hug, for a moment she felt like everything was going to be okay. Well, he was able to get her out of that thought spiral at least. She pulled the quilt tight around her and hoped he would be back soon.

Wait, it was a weekday. What if he had plans before this but he cancelled them to hang out with her? What if he had to do homework? Crap, she had missed a day of classes too.

She shuffled over to her laptop and sent emails to her professors, apologizing for not being in class and asking for what she missed. Thankfully she was the type that always went to class and turned her work in. Being the teacher’s pet really helped in situations like this.

Now that that was taken care of, she grabbed her phone from her desk and saw it was dead. She hadn’t bothered setting it on the charger last night. After plugging it in, she opened her messages and saw the picture Sylvain had sent her yesterday. She couldn’t help but giggle at the dramatic face he was making. She was also ninety-five percent sure Dimitri took the picture based on how shaky it was. For a guy that probably had access to every piece of technology under the sun before it came out to the public, he wasn’t really good at using it.

Under it were two more texts from Sylvain. One asking if the previous one had gone through and the other that he was coming by to check on her. She pressed her phone to her chest. Sylvain was so nice to her. He always seemed to be looking out for her and seemed to go out of his way to make her feel comfortable. Her father said he would tire of her, but based on the way he treated her, it didn’t look like that would happen? But maybe she was reading him wrong…

Bernadetta shook her head. No! She couldn’t think like that. That’s what got her into this thought spiral in the first place. She returned to the spot on the floor and wandered the internet until she heard a knock on the door.

She shuffled over and opened it to see Sylvain standing there with a large pizza and a small carton of ice cream on top of it.

“You have a fridge right? Want to throw the ice cream in before it melts.”

“You didn’t have to get ice cream,” she murmured. It was also aptly named “chocolate therapy”.

“Nonsense, you need it.” Sylvain sat on the shag rug with the pizza box in front of him. “You got plates? I mean we don’t need them but I would be scared to drop oil or something on your rug.”

After thinking a moment, she remembered where she kept them and pulled them out from under her bed along with two bottles of cane sugar soda from her fridge.

“You didn’t have to get a whole veggie lover pizza,” she said in surprise.

“Nonsense, tonight is a cheer Bernie up day!” He gestured to the TV. “That’s an internet TV right? Should I log into my account so we can continue that drama?”

“That would be nice,” she said softly and then frowned. “What about class tomorrow?”

“We’ll be fine if it’s only a few hours.”

“Okay…” She grabbed the remote and handed it over before settling herself next to him with a slice of pizza. She ate slowly, she didn’t feel like eating but she knew she had to, the taste barely there. Having Sylvain against her back, overly dramatically reacting to the drama was comforting.

“Seriously? I can’t believe he turned out to be her long lost brother. That’s gotta be awkward once that CEO boyfriend of hers finds out,” he said with a shake of his head as they got to the end of another episode.

“Well, apparently he’s in the next three seasons so I think she gets over it somehow?”

“Holy crap, how many seasons are in this drama!?” Sylvain went into the menu to check. “Seven!?”

“With another one currently being filmed.”

“How much drama can one girl have, sheesh.” Sylvain rolled his eyes. “Anyway, what time is it? Oh crap, it’s already eleven thirty!?”

Bernadetta flinched. It was getting late and he probably had class in the morning. “I’m sorry Sylvain.”

“It’s okay, not your fault, I should have kept better track of time.” He released her and stood. After taking a moment to crack his back, he grabbed the empty pizza box and empty soda bottles and after setting her deadbolt to prevent the door from shutting all the way, he slipped out of her room to throw out the garbage in the big bin by the elevator.

He returned and after setting her door back to normal, he turned to her and rubbed the back of his neck. “You’ll be okay now?”

She stared down at the shag rug and buried her toes into it. “I think so,” she said quietly. “I mean, I’m feeling better right now at least.” Truthfully she was worried about falling asleep once Sylvain left. She would be left alone with her thoughts with nothing to distract her.

As if guessing what she was thinking, he glanced at her bed. “It’ll be a bit tight, especially with all the stuffed animals but I don’t mind staying the night to help you sleep.”

Bernadetta’s eyes widen. “You don’t have to Sylvain.”

“Will you be able to fall asleep after I leave?”

She looked down at the ground. “I don’t know…”

“I’ll stay then. I’m just going to step out to go to the bathroom, I’ve gotta pee real bad.”

She giggled as he bolted out of her room. Since this was a girls only floor, the bathrooms were for, well, girls only. Sylvain would need to go to a different floor to use a bathroom. Speaking of bathroom…

Looking down at her clothes, she wrinkled her nose, realizing that she had not taken a shower since yesterday. Ugh, she probably stunk. After a moment of debating, she decided a quick shower was better than nothing so she gathered her stuff and headed for the bathroom. She sent a quick text to Sylvain to let him know what she was doing and left her door with the deadbolt out to prevent the door from closing all the way. She wasn’t too worried about anyone taking her things. It was generally a quiet floor on the weekdays and everyone was most likely asleep at this point. Besides, Sylvain would be back soon.

When she got out, she was surprised to see Sylvain was not back yet. Checking her phone, he said he would run back to his room to get his things so he could go straight to class tomorrow from her room.

Wait a second. She was going to have a boy in her room _all night_.

Her internal screaming panic came back at full force. What was she supposed to do!? Should she clean? No, that didn’t make any sense. Oh wait, her bed could use a fluffing at least. Ack, when was the last time she washed her sheets!?

She moved a few of her stuffed animals from the bed to her desk so there would be more room on the bed itself.

Hearing a knock on the door, she opened it and Sylvain stood there, a backpack over one shoulder, his hair slightly damp.

“Thought I would shower too since we’re going to be sleeping together,” he commented. He paused and shivered. “Okay, we need to find a better word to call this. Also cute bear pajamas by the way.”

She looked down her cartoon bear pajama pants and shuffled her feet in place. “Thanks,” she murmured.

He dropped his backpack near the door and walked over to her bed. “Hmm, you want to be closer to the wall or not?”

“Closer to the wall is fine.” Realizing that meant she had to get into the bed first, she climbed up and laid down under the covers, facing the wall. Without thinking, she grabbed one of the teddy bears still on her bed and clutched it against her chest.

After turning off the light, she felt Sylvain get in bed behind her. His arms wrapped loosely around her waist and she felt his legs press against the back of hers. “Okay?” he asked.

She nodded and then realized he probably couldn’t see it. “Yeah,” she murmured.

After a couple minutes, she could feel his breathe even out and his grip relaxed slightly on her. It was incredible how fast he could fall asleep. However, she could feel herself relaxing as well and before long sleep overtook her, her dreams peaceful and quiet. 

***

Sylvain had a really good internal clock and he awoke around eight in the morning, his usual time to get up for his class at ten. Man, it was crazy how well he slept when he was cuddling Bernie. Glancing down, the girl in question was still asleep but she had turned over, her head leaning against his chest, a teddy bear clutched tightly in her arms.

Only with Bernie he would end up spooning with a teddy bear along with a girl. It was so cute! Oh, that would be a cute present to buy her. A teddy bear holding a pen or a book or something. A Bernie Bear! He was definitely going to need to look that up later.

He pushed a few strands of hair out of her face, hoping she was feeling okay now. Or at least better than before. Her dad was a real piece of work saying those kinds of things to her. He really wanted to go over there and punch the guy’s lights out.

Alas, even though he was a prick, he was still a wealthy man and burning bridges like that would not go over well. All he could really do was support Bernie, the best way he could.

Sighing, he knew he needed to get out of bed to get ready for class. He carefully pulled his arms back, trying not to wake her but she shifted and cracked open her eyes. “Sylvain?” she muttered.

“Sorry, I gotta get going if I want to make it to class on time. You going to be okay?”

She nodded, still obviously half asleep. “See you later….and thanks…Sylvain.”

He had to smile as her eyes closed and she fell back asleep. So cute. He blinked in surprise at the feeling of protectiveness he had over her. He never felt anything like that before but at the same time it was familiar and right, like this was how it was supposed to be.

Weird.

Knowing he had to get going if he was going to be ready in time for class, he grabbed his backpack, threw on his shoes and left her room, careful to slowly close the door so it wouldn’t wake her.


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obligatory Animal Crossing chapter.

Over the next two weeks, Sylvain made sure to check on Bernie every day. Sometimes through text but mostly he tried to have meals with her whenever he could and if not, he would visit her in her room and sometimes even spend the night with her. He tried to not stay over the whole night as often as he wanted to, who knew what the other girls on the floor thought? Bernie didn’t seem to care as she wasn’t friends with any of them but Sylvain had his own mess of a reputation and the idea of people thinking Bernie was sleeping with him bothered him a lot.

Well the thought of having sex with Bernie was super weird to him mostly.

However he didn’t want to not see her anymore in her room. Having Bernie in his dorm would be even weirder, especially since he knew he would want to deep clean his whole room if she was going to spend the night. There was no way Bernie was going to be anywhere near his bed at the moment.

On Friday, Sylvain bought a pizza, popcorn and a bunch of other light snacks to her room. They were going to watch a drama and Bernie wanted to show him the new game she bought. Something with animals. Sylvain was surprised that Bernie wanted to play the game _and_ watch the drama but apparently it was the type of game you only played for an hour or so at a time? Whatever that meant.

“Hey Sylvain,” said Bernie, opening the door to her room. She took a few of the snacks from him and arranged it on the floor while Sylvain set up the pizza.

“Did you sign up for classes yet?” asked Sylvain.

Bernie nodded. “Yeah, I got into everything I wanted, you?”

Sylvain sighed. “Unfortunately so. Macroeconomics for me next year.”

“That sounds…” Bernie paused and seemed to be thinking it over.

“Boring, I know. But hey, I’m doing better than most in some regard, I don’t need to worry about starting to look at grad schools next year since Garreg Mach automatically will automatically transition me into that program.”

“Oh, you’re going for your MBA?” she asked in surprise.

“Family requirement.” Sylvain rolled his eyes. “Felix, Dimitri and I are stuck doing it. Ingrid doesn’t have to but I think she’s doing it as well.” He noticed Bernie’s expression sadden slightly. “What’s up Bernie?” He reached over and grasped her hand since she was too far to hug.

“I mean, it’s a bit long term to think about right now,” she stammered, “But I was thinking it will be sad once I graduate and I won’t be on campus anymore. I’m only getting my bachelors. And well uh, I heard the MBA program here at Garreg Mach is intense so you’re probably going to be super busy all the time.”

“Holy crap, I didn’t even think of that!” Sylvain’s eyes widen. In two years he wasn’t going to be able to see Bernie whenever he wanted anymore. She’ll be off in the real world being a cool editor while he would be stuck in grad school for another two years! And the program was super intense, the joke being that real world is on pause while going through the program. 

“Well, I know I’ll have summer off and all the breaks in between,” he said quickly. “We can totally hang out then, and I’m totally going to text you all the time. Garreg Mach will probably have some new statues by then too and I know you would want to see them.” He put down the bag of chips he was trying to open, slid over and put his arms around her, resting his chin on top of her head. “I’m not going to leave my Berrito behind.”

“Sylvain really!?” She pouted.

“What? It’s a cute nickname! You like it, I know it.”

“Yes, yes I like it.” She rolled her eyes. “Anyway, sorry about mentioning something so long term so randomly.”

“It’s okay, Bernie. It’s something we’ll figure out, you’ll see. Anyway, what’s this game you wanted to show me? Animal…”

“ _Animal Crossing_.” Bernadetta grabbed the controller and turned on her switch. “The newest one came out earlier this week.”

“That’s a weird name,” he commented. “Wait, why is that cat carrying a bug net?”

“That’s Punchy, he’s one of my islanders.” Bernie loaded up her file. Her character was adorable, in a cute dress with light purple hair.

Sylvain had to admit, this game was super cute! And so relaxing compared to TMS. Bernie did some fishing, caught some bugs and did some shopping and rearranged the furniture in her house. She even spent some time paying off her loan to a weird looking tanuki who apparently was a loan shark.

There was also an ungodly amount of eggs everywhere.

“It’s for the bunny day event,” said Bernie with a sigh as she caught another water egg instead of a fish. “No one really likes it and I really want the sakura furniture. There’s some really cute stuff.”

“Oh dang,” commented Sylvain. “That stinks.”

“I’ll get it in time. Annette is also playing and we’ve been helping each other get recipes.”

“Hang on Annette plays too!?”

Bernie nodded. “Yes, she posted an AC meme in one of the chats so we started talking and playing together.”

“You can play together?”

“Yup. You can invite people into your town. That’s how I got the apples. Annette gave me some from her island and I gave her some of my cherries.”

“You can play with you friends huh,” Sylvain said thoughtfully, looking at the game.

“Anyway, that’s _Animal Crossing_.” Bernie saved the game and exited out.

“It’s a cool game,” said Sylvain. “Very relaxing and fun. Probably something I would actually be good at. And you can’t curbstomp me in it like you do in Smash.”

“You told me to not hold back,” she protested.

“I know but I wasn’t expecting you to be that good!”

Bernie switched the input on the TV. “I’m uh sorry?”

“One day I’ll get the hang of using Robin! Really sad that you can’t play Chrom though.” He opened the bag of popcorn as Bernie set it up for the next episode. “Anyway, let’s see what craziness this girl gets into!”

***

“Thanks for wanting to help me out today.” Sylvain sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck as he walked up to Annette and Mercedes on the second floor of the mall. “I know this was on very short notice.”

“It’s alright Sylvain, we were already planning on coming here today just to hang out and shop,” said Mercedes with a bright smile.

“I’m still kind of shocked you reached out to me to help you buy something,” said Annette.

“Well Bernie said you played _Animal Crossing_ as well so I assume you know what I would need to buy and stuff. I don’t own a switch and Bernie has a ton of accessories for hers so…”

Mercedes chuckled. “That’s so sweet of you that you want to play it because she does.”

“Mercie, don’t tease him like that! AC is serious business.”

“Well I’ve been wanting to get my own switch and I think this would be a good time to do it…also seeing the expression on Bernie’s face when I come by next weekend with the game and my switch.”

“Oh so you’re probably going to need to time travel a bit.”

“Time-travel?”

As they walked to the game store, Annette gave Sylvain a rundown on how time traveling worked along with a bunch of game tips. He ended up pulling out his phone and taking notes for himself. Wasn’t this game supposed to be a nice, relaxing casual game!? Why did it seem like it had actual strategy to it?

Mercedes stood on the side and smiled as Annette led the way into the game store and pretty much tossed stuff at Sylvain. He didn’t just need to get a switch, he needed a carrying case, a screen protector, a pro controller and he ended up buying another set of joy cons because he liked the color. Oh and games. Annette suggested a couple and he grabbed those along with _Animal Crossing_ and Smash. Also _Tokyo Mirage Session_. He really didn’t want to suffer through the game again, the battles were way too hard for him but it was a game filled with happy memories that he wanted to own his own copy.

“Thanks a lot Annette,” he said, as he walked out with bags and bags of items.

“No problem, that was fun! Also if you need any help with the time travel or whatnot, let me know.”

“Will do! Sorry for taking your time, I know it was probably boring for you Mercedes.”

“It was fine, it was nice seeing you two get along, I think I’ve seen a whole other side to you Sylvain.” Mercedes’s bright smile seemed to light up the area.

Sylvain would have rested his hand on the back of his neck if he wasn’t holding so many bags. “Well, you know, when I do something, can’t do it halfway. I won’t take any more of your time, thanks.”

After saying goodbye, he excitedly headed for his car. He had finished off all his homework yesterday after leaving Bernie’s room in preparation for starting to play _Animal Crossing_ today. He had an island to run!

***

“Sylvain, you look….very excited,” commented Bernadetta as Sylvain practically skipped into her room for their Friday night drama and game playing. Well, originally she thought it would just be a drama watching night but Sylvain insisted they spend some time playing _Animal Crossing_. Maybe today she could let him play a bit?

“I am Bernie!” Sylvain dropped his backpack on the floor.

“Did you bring more stuff today or something?” She eyed the backpack in surprise. Sometimes he brought it but it was usually filled with snacks. It sounded like there was something heavier in it.

“I brought something else!” Sylvain reached into the backpack and pulled out a switch carrying case. “I got my own switch.”

“You…what?” Bernadetta looked at him in surprise.

Sylvain nodded and pulled it out of the case. “And I got _Animal Crossing_ and have been playing it for the past week. Been working super hard on making a cool island. Annette has been helping me out.”

“Annette has?” she asked in surprise.

“Yeah, I wanted to keep it a surprise so when we started playing together, I would know what I was doing. That…wasn’t a problem right?” he asked cautiously.

Bernadetta blinked. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Oh, no reason really.”

Uh okay then? He might have said it like that but he had a dorky smile on his face as he turned on his switch. “What’s your friend code Bernie?”

***

It was way too much fun running around an island with Bernie and spending the time catching fish and bugs. Well, until the bugs started fighting back.

“Bernie! Save me!” yelled Sylvain as he made his character run around a few trees, a tarantula running after him.

“I’m trying!” cried Bernie, her character running after them with a bug net. “You’re just moving too much Sylvain, I can’t get it.”

Sylvain circled around the tree and ran back towards Bernie. “Tell my story!” he cried dramatically.

Bernie swung the net and managed to catch the tarantula before it could bite Sylvain’s poor character. He sighed in relief. “Thanks for the save Bernie.”

“No problem. You want the bells after I sell it?”

“Naw, you can keep it.”

Bernie narrowed her eyes at him before tossing bells on the ground. “Take it Sylvain.”

“Bernie no!” he protested.

“You’re already doing so much for me Sylvain. Why didn’t you read any of those DIY recipes!? And why are you giving me all your cool furniture?”

“Cause I thought you would like it,” he protested. “The writing stuff is so you and I know you were looking for them.”

“I was but…” She sighed. “You need to get stuff for your own island too Sylvain.”

“But making your island nice is fun Bernie,” protested Sylvain.

She sighed and shook her head. “Well I’m going to help you out now,” she said . “What stuff do you need?”

“Bernie you don’t-” He clamped his mouth shut after seeing her stubborn expression. Alright then, guess he was going to have a nice island after all.


	29. Chapter 29

“Holy crap, I think I’m in love with Bernie.”

Ingrid dropped her pen. Felix looked at Sylvain in disbelief and Dimitri was in the middle of writing an email and his finger sat on the space bar as he stared at Sylvain in confusion. Dedue was in the corner and he looked up from writing his own paper at Sylvain’s declaration.

“Platonically I mean,” he added quickly, realizing how weird that probably sounded. Thankfully they were in one of the private study rooms in the library. He didn’t want any of his girls overhearing this.

“Congratulations on figuring this out? Can we please go back to finishing up this group project so we don’t fail out of class?” asked Felix with the same level of deadpan sarcasm he always had.

Sylvain stared at Felix in disbelief. This felt like the biggest revelation ever and Felix just wanted to move on!? He didn’t feel like he could just move on from something like this.

“What, come on guys, that’s it? No fanfare?”

Ingrid picked up her fallen pen. “I mean, it’s obvious that you had been for a while now?”

Dedue nodded. “You have been very caring towards her for a while now, it is easy to deduce why that is the case.”

“Even I have seen this,” said Dimitri. “Your feelings towards her are quite strong and you are very protective of her. You did buy a whole game console just so you could play games with her.”

“Well you guys could have said something,” he grumbled.

Ingrid shrugged. “It’s something you needed to figure out on your own. But I’m proud of you Sylvain. Look at you, finally understanding your feelings.” She clapped but Sylvian got the distinct impression she was making fun of him.

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Alright, alright, I get it. It was super obvious to everyone. Stop rubbing it in.” It had been nagging in the back of his mind for the past couple weeks now. What was it about Bernie that had him come back over and over again? Why did her smile make him so happy? Now that he was finally able to solve the mystery, it felt like a whole new door had opened. Wait a minute. He stared at their group project and thought it over. “Should I tell her?”

“You could if you want to, hey Dimitri, look up the current stock value of the Bergliez Association,” said Ingrid. “Honestly, this project needs so much information…”

“But what if she finds it weird?” Sylvain frowned. “Seriously guys, I’m asking for advice here.”

“I do not think we can give you advice in that regard,” said Dimitri. “It pretty much comes down to the relationship between you two and what you feel like is appropriate.”

“Well that’s not much of an answer either,” grumbled Sylvain.

“Just tell her if you care about it so much,” snapped Felix.

Sylvain blinked. “Alright, alright, I get it, I’m being super annoying about it. Yeesh.” He twirled his pen and focused on the group project but in the back of his mind he kept turning it over and over. Should he tell Bernie?

***

“I swear, I think this game is harder than TMS was!”

Bernadetta giggled as Sylvain stared at her 3DS in annoyance. She had convinced him to play _Awakening_ and well, it went just as well as she thought it would. Sylvain really needed to stick to just _Animal Crossing_. Oh, maybe _Story of Seasons_ would be up his alley?

“At least the game is on casual and not classic. Then the units would be dead and you couldn’t use them for the rest of the game.”

“Wait what? You mean Lissa and Fredrick would be dead forever due to my horrible decisions!?” Sylvain let out a long sigh. “How do you play these kinds of games Bernie? This is so stressful.”

“Well that’s why play on casual…and I’ve played enough video games that it isn’t too bad.” She took the 3DS from him. Despite his attachment to the characters, it didn’t look like that would keep him committed enough to playing the whole game.

“Yeah, yeah, rub it in why don’t you,” he grumbled.

She giggled again at how he was pouting and she put her arms around him and dramatically patted his back. “There, there Sylvain.”

“Don’t you ‘there, there’ me.” He was smiling now too though. “So, you want to continue with that drama or should we call it a night?”

“We probably should call it a night.” Bernadetta sighed. The end of the semester was rushing up upon them and the assignments were starting to pile up. This was probably going to be their last get together of the semester.

“When are you going home?”

“On that Tuesday. Most of my finals are papers so I can turn them in early.”

“Lucky, I’m here till Friday.” Sylvain rubbed the back of his neck. “You keeping this room?”

She nodded. “I usually only bring home a few of my things.” She bit her lip. “It’s going to be weird not having these kinds of things for a few months.”

“I know, summer vacation is so long! Although we should totally plan to do a few things together. I’ll drive up to you.”

Bernadetta’s eyes widen. “You sure? That’s really far.”

He shrugged. “It’s whatever. Oh! Maybe we could go down to the beach? My family has a beach house down there.”

“Maybe,” she said. “Uh, for your birthday week maybe? Unless you’re doing something.”

“Nope, I’m free. That would be awesome though to spend a beach trip with you Bernie! We should totally plan it later.”

“We should!” She glanced at her laptop. This gave her a deadline to finish. It was already an unwieldy 50k and there was still more story in her. With her having time over the summer, she would be able to spend more time getting the first draft written and then she could run it through a few edits.

“Great!” He gave her a large bear hug before getting up. “I’ll see you soon Bernie!”

“See you soon Sylvain.”

He opened her door, paused and then looked back at her.

“What is it?” She could tell he was contemplating something.

“Bernie I….”

“You what?”

He shook his head. “Nothing.”

“Are you sure?” she frowned. “Didn’t your therapist tell you to not hold back?”

Sylvain chuckled. “He did but I think this can wait. I’ll bring it up when we meet up over summer break alright?”

“Okay, if you say so.”

“Great. Alright, this time I’m actually leaving, see you soon Bernie!”


	30. Chapter 30

Summer break wasn’t normally a stressful time for Bernadetta. Despite being at home, her father was usually on a business trip so the house was relaxing and peaceful. Bernadetta had a good relationship with her mother and without her father around, the two of them were able to have some nice conversations, including Bernadetta making it very clear to her the kind of relationship she had with Sylvain. Even her mother to agree it would be best to continue to have Henrick think that her and Sylvain were dating for now, at least until Bernadetta finished school and got a job of her own to support herself.

No pressure right?

Sylvain also messaged her almost every day. Usually about something small and simple. Maybe about the nice breakfast he had or the time he spent with his friends. The group chat was also bustling and Bernadetta felt like she could finally converse with them and not feel weird about it. Annette wanted to commission a “creepy crawly” cartoon bug plushie from Bernadetta. She had never made a bug before, but it couldn’t hurt to try right?

Bernadetta was also able to finish up the first draft and edits of the story with two weeks to spare and was able to send it out to get it printed and bound so it looked like a real book. Nothing too fancy cover-wise, she wanted it to look like the old books found on the shelves. Would Sylvain like it though, that was the question. The _Loog_ book was currently on display in her bedroom, there was no way she was going to leave such an expensive book at school over the summer break. Would it be worth the _Loog_ book in Sylvain’s eyes?

It felt like a super personal story, a story about the friendship between a boy and a girl. It might have been a little too on the nose in some parts but she felt like it was a story that had to be told.

Everything was set for the trip to the beach house and Bernadetta thought it would be smooth sailing but then Henrick came home from a business trip a week before her planned date to leave.

And despite the staff liking Bernadetta, they feared Henrick more than her and it didn’t take long for her father to call her into his office.

She hated this room. It was imposing with oil paintings on the walls of the previous family heads. All had stern stares and positioned so they looked at the person coming in. The rest of the room was filled with large bookcases filled with books that were more for show than practical use. Henrick sat behind the large oak desk and gestured to the seat across from him. “Sit Bernadetta.”

Bernadetta had to fight the urge to flee. Her mind screamed as she remembered some of her father’s “training” from this very room. Knees, knocking together, she managed to get to the chair but sat on the edge, ready to bolt at a moment’s notice.

“You are planning a trip with the Gautier fellow I hear.”

She nodded, staring at the wood grain on the table.

“Despite my warning and despite the fact he continues to show such callous behaviors, you still continue to see him. Bernadetta, I never expected for you to be so desperate.”

“It…it isn’t…”

“He seems to be having fun over this break. Spending time with other women and whatnot. Bernadetta, he is using you, plain and simple. Although I do not see for what purpose considering his family is wealthy in and of itself and this is obviously no attempt in courtship as his family as not stepped forward to begin engagement arrangements. Honestly, I fail to see the purpose of him wasting his time in stringing you along.”

She clenched her fists in her lap, the words stuck in her throat. Sylvain wasn’t like that all! She understood that he liked that kind of stuff too and she was okay with it. How could she tell her dad that though? He probably didn’t understand or get the idea about a boy and a girl being so close and having it not be a romantic relationship in any way.

“And if you are unable to make the right decisions, then I will make it for you. You will not be going with this boy to this summer home of his.”

Bernadetta’s head snapped up and she looked her father in the eye. “What? No…you can’t…”

“I am your father and I will. Someone needs to look out for you Bernadetta and it doesn’t look like your mother was doing the job while I was gone.”

“But…I…”

“No buts, we’re done here. You are not going to his beach house next week.” Henrick scoffed. “Who knows what kind of things you two would do alone. You’ll probably come back here crying.”

Well, considering she had spent spring break at Sylvain’s house, probably nothing like her dad was thinking, but there was no way she was going to bring that up now. She numbly got up and left the study. Her mother was waiting outside and she was whispering apologies and how she tried to convince Henrick otherwise.

Bernadetta barely heard her as she walked past and headed up to her room and locked the door. She let out a small cry of frustration and hit her fists against the carpet. It always happened like this! Her dad always ruined everything, just like her relationship with the gardener boy as a child. They had been close friends and like everything else, Henrick had to swoop in and ruin it.

Hearing her phone go off, she pulled it out of her pocket and saw it was a message from Sylvain. He was currently playing Zelda on his own and he would regularly send her updates on how the game was going.

He was way too excited about beating a weak monster that it was adorable. He also mentioned he was excited to finally show Bernadetta his gaming skills when they finally hung out next week.

That sent another stab into Bernadetta’s heart. She had to tell him. There was no way she was going to be able to get away, Henrick was going to be home for another week and a half. She was going to need to cancel and she didn’t want to disappoint Sylvain. However, what else could she do? After another moment hesitation, she texted him what had happened.

***

That son of a bitch.

Sylvain stared at his phone and Bernie’s long text explaining why she couldn’t spend a week with him at the beach resort. Her damn father and his meddling. He would never even dream to do anything like that to Bernie! Sure, Sylvain’s reputation was absolutely atrocious online(and he liked it that way) but why was her dad looking through it!? And why was he using it as an excuse to keep control over Bernie? She was an adult and able to make her own decisions for crying out loud!

What could he do about it though? What could even be done in a situation like this? He had to admit, this whole trip was one of the things he was looking forward to the most over the summer and now it wasn’t going to happen? BS! He should go over there and yell at Henrick to leave Bernie alone and sweep her off her feet and take her on this trip.

Wait.

He sent a text to his friends to call a meeting. He needed to know if this idea was stupid or not.


	31. Chapter 31

Adrestian County was far! No wonder Bernie suggested meeting halfway and then going down to the beach. It was also way warmer here than his home town and Sylvain was glad for air conditioning, and the fact he packed clothing fit for the weather. It took him about two days travel to finally reach Bernie’s neighborhood.

It was obviously affluent but not as affluent as Sylvain’s neighborhood. The houses were big, the lawns wide and some of the homes looked to be on the older side that haven’t been refurbished with the times.

He found Bernie’s home and pulled up her driveway, there was no fence to separate it from the street, which was great because he doubted he would be let in otherwise. He parked his car and got out, a quick check of his phone and no new texts from Bernie. He gave her the instructions to pack her bags for the trip and wait for him. She protested, saying it wouldn’t work but he replied she needed to trust him.

He squared his shoulders and checked to make sure he looked presentable before ringing the doorbell. It took a few moments but a butler opened the door and looked at Sylvain in confusion.

“I am here to speak with Henrick Varley in response to taking her daughter to a beach house today.”

Understanding dawned in his eyes. “I am sorry to report that Miss Varley is not allowed to go on this trip.”

“I am aware of that so I want to appeal it with her father. I am well aware of the state of the Varley family’s stock. It would be a shame for it to plummet all of a sudden?”

The butler’s eyes narrowed but Sylvain was careful to keep the nonchalant, easy going demeanor. He was a womanizer and there wasn’t much going on in his head. Or at least that’s what he wanted to present.

“Wait here a moment,” said the butler curtly.

“Of course,” said Sylvain with a small smile.

***

Sylvain was in her house!?

Bernadetta hurried down the hall towards her father’s study. When Sylvain had texted her that he had a plan to help her out and she just needed to pack her things for the trip and be ready to go, she didn’t believe it was possible. There was nothing that could be done to change her father’s mind and she knew if she tried to sneak out or whatever, he would just hire someone to bring her back. The long time repercussions weren’t worth it.

What she wasn’t expecting to happen was Sylvain showing up unannounced and demanding to see her father. Thank Seiros, the staff liked to gossip otherwise she would not have known about a “hot red-haired boy” that had rang the bell and demanded to meet Henrick.

“Your daughter has every right to live her life as she pleases.”

Bernadetta froze in the hallway. Her father’s study door had been left open a crack and Sylvain’s voice sounded so demanding and in-charge. She crept closer until she could peer into the room. Sylvain sat at the chair Bernadetta had taken a week ago.

Unlike her, he took command of the space, one hand resting on the arm of the chair, his ankle resting on the knee of his other leg.

“She does but I also have the right as a parent to guide her as I see fit. Although I will say I am quite surprised you came all the way out here to demand her to go with you. I never took you to be the desperate type.”

“I am not desperate, I care about Bernie a lot and this trip will be good for her mental health and we’ve been planning it for some time now. I know her not being able to go would be devasting for her. So I decided to come here in person and address the concerns you have for our relationships.”

“Oh really now? Threatening to destroy my company is your way of addressing it?”

“Well, I did not see any other way that you would be willing to speak with me. You must understand how sometimes a bluff can get you in the door for the real negotiations.”

Bernadetta heard Henrick’s chair creak. “So? What is your reasoning? I assume she has told you mine.”

“She has and I can understand where your fears are coming from but I do not see her in that way. She is an important person to me, someone I care about a lot and I would never, _ever_ do something like that to her.”

“Oh really now?” Henrick chuckled. “Empty words.”

“It is not. Bernie is the kindest, sweetest person I know and she is trying her best despite the world, yourself included trying to push her down. She just needs helps every once in a while and I’m happy to give it to her.”

“Really now?” Henrick said slowly, obviously not believing a word Sylvain is saying.

“It is true and I know it’s hard to believe just from my words alone but…” He paused for a moment. “But I will have you know I love Bernie and would do anything she asks of me.”

Wait what? Bernadetta’s face turned bright red. He couldn’t…no way. That couldn’t be right. They had a mutual agreement and understanding. They were friends and nothing more. Wait, maybe he meant it in that way? Her dad still thought they were dating so…

But what if it wasn’t?

What if he thought of her romantically now? But she didn’t think of him in that way. Oh no. What was she going to do about it!? Wait, was this why he was acting weird in the few weeks before the semester ended? Was he trying to confess to her?

Realizing the conversation had moved on without her, she focused and heard Sylvain speak, “It is understandable that an emotional response will not work for you. Fine, then how about a business agreement between our families? I’ve heard that the Varley family isn’t doing as well in certain aspects and the Gautier would be willing to lend a hand on the matter. Here is a folder with my proposition.”

Bernadetta heard the rustling of papers and then a long silence. “And you have the authority for this?”

“I am the son and future head of the Gautier family. This is a business transaction nothing more. This will be more beneficial for you than me.”

Another long silence. “Well, if the only caveat is that I have to allow you to keep connections to my daughter then fine. I accept your proposal Sylvain Gautier.”

“Thank you. We can discuss it in more detail at a later date. I will have Bernie home by next Monday.”

Crap, they were going to approach the door! Bernadetta took a few large steps back and pretended to be walking forward as Sylvain stepped out of the office.

He startled, noticing her there. “Hey Bernie, everything got sorted out! We have a beach trip to do!”

“H…how did you manage to do that?” she stammered. Ugh, her face was probably still red but she hoped he would take it as her being nervous about this whole thing.

“Just talked to him and we came to an understanding. It was much easier than I thought, just needed to throw out a business deal. It’s nothing big, don’t worry Bernie, but yeah, everything is taken care of!” He gave her a thumbs up.

Hang on, was Sylvain’s neck redder than it usually was? Was he also blushing a bit? Wait, maybe it was embarrassing for him to say? Didn’t that mean that she was right and he was in love with her romantically? This was terrible! Especially since they were going to be on the beach together, alone, in a house!

“Hey Bernie? You okay? You’re not having a panic attack right?”

His look of concern snapped her out of her descending thought spiral. “No, I’m okay,” she managed to get out. “Just surprised and processing, that’s all. Uh, my stuff is in my room.”

“Cool, want me to help you get it?”

“No, I got it.” Especially with that declaration, the idea of having him in her bedroom felt…weird.

“Gotcha. My car is out front. I’ll go and turn on the air conditioner, it’s really hot out here.”


	32. Chapter 32

It took another day and a half to reach the beach house. They had to stop at a hotel so Sylvain could sleep and thankfully he asked for a room with double beds. Since they had not seen each other in a while, she was worried he would want to cuddle and fall asleep together, but it looked like he was tired from all the driving and passed out after dinner.

That was good for her because it gave her time to sit on the other bed and go over what Sylvain said to Henrick. Could she possibly interpret that another way? Could he have meant it in a friendship way? If so, then why had he never said it to her before? She glanced over and watched him sleep.

He was facing her with a relaxed, unguarded expression. Crap, she hoped the bedside light wasn’t bothering him. She flicked the light off and crawled into the other bed and kept running it over and over again in her mind. Sure, she knew it probably wasn’t good for her to be thinking about it so much but she couldn’t help it.

What was she going to do if he really did love her in a romantic way?

She knew she definitely didn’t seem him in that way, kissing him or doing anything sexual with him felt gross and out of place. Should she bring it up or leave it alone? Which was the correct choice? Was there even a correct choice?

If only someone could tell her what to do!

It took her way longer than she would have liked to fall asleep.

***

Sylvain unlocked the door to the beach house and opened the front door wide. Like everything owned by the Gautier family besides the main family home, it was hip and modern, with all of the latest gadgets. The back wall was all glass and besides the large wooden patio, it overlooked the private beach.

During the time when the family wasn’t here, there was a live in staff that cared for the place. Sylvain had them sent away for the duration of the trip. Him and Bernie could take care of anything they would need! Especially since Sylvain requested the fridge be stocked up with supplies.

He gave Bernie a tour of the place and pointed out which room was hers. It overlooked beach and had its own personal bathroom.

“You want to go down to the beach today to look around for a bit? The sunset looks super nice.”

“Huh? Uh sure…”

Sylvain frowned. He didn’t want to say anything but he had noticed she had been acting weird ever since he picked her up from her house. It wasn’t anything overt, but sometimes she took longer than usual to answer him and she would shift away slightly when he leaned in close to her. He thought perhaps she was still getting over the shock of her dad letting her go on this trip in the first place, but was it something more than that?

“I just remembered, I got you something Bernie!” He didn’t wait for her response before hurrying into the room he would be using(across the hall from hers) and pulled out the present from his bag.

Bernie was in the middle of putting her clothes away when he hurried in with the box. “Here you go!”

She stared at the box in surprise and then at him. “Wait, why? Isn’t your birthday in the next few days?”

“I know but I saw this in the store and thought it would be cute to give to you.” Well, he had gotten it specially ordered but she didn’t need to know that.

Bernie delicately took the box from him and pulled off the ribbon on top and popped off the lid. Her eyes widen as she lifted the bear out. The fur was in a similar shade of purple to her hair, the eyes a dark gray. A cloth bow was strapped to the back of its t-shirt.

“Bernie-bear?” she read the name of the shirt and looked at him in disbelief.

“It reminded me of you!” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I thought it was cute. Do….do you like it?” Maybe that wasn’t a good present, she had a ton of bears after all.

She wrapped her arms around its torso and hugged it against her chest. “I love it Sylvain.” Her eyes darkened and she turned away. “Bernie-bear, you’re going to go on my bed tonight!”

“Hey, did something happen Bernie?”

“Something happen? Not at all!” she squeaked.

Okay, something did happen. Damn it, what did he do? Ack, maybe she did want to cuddle yesterday? He thought it would be best to not offer since she seemed a bit jittery. He was also tired from driving so much so he didn’t even know how long he would be awake to cuddle in the first place.

He watched as she fussed on where to keep Bernie-bear on her bed. “Hey, it’s almost sunset, you want to go out and see it? Like I said before, it’s very pretty.”

“Oh, sure.”

A gnawing was starting to take hold in the pit of his stomach. Something was wrong but he didn’t know what.

***

Bernadetta was acting like an idiot and she knew it. It was super obvious that something was bothering her and she really wished she could just ignore it and act like everything was normal.

She was a crappy actor though.

The sand was soft under her sneakers as she followed Sylvain onto the beach. He hadn’t been kidding about the sunset, the colors were warm shades of red and orange and purple and they flowed into the deep blue ocean, washing everything in the warm glow.

It really matched Sylvain’s hair and he looked back at her with his hands his pockets and what appeared to be a slightly worried look. “So?” he asked. “Isn’t it pretty?”

She nodded and looked out into the water. “It is quite pretty,” she agreed, walking up next to him.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sylvain lift his hand and reach towards her. She flinched, realizing he was going to put an arm around her and pull her towards him. His hand froze and then he pulled back and shoved it in his pocket.

“Did I do something?” he said softly. He stared down at the ebbing and flowing tide.

“Huh?”

“Did I do something to upset you? You’ve been…off since we got here. Did I do something? Or you didn’t want to come on this trip in the first place?” He rested his hand on the back of his neck. “I guess I wasn’t listening to your wishes on the matter, I really did decide on my own.”

“No, it’s not…” She bit her lip. “It’s not you…” Or was it? This was super confusing.

“Seriously, you can lay it on me Bernie. If you want to go home, I’ll drive you back. Well, probably tomorrow since I’m pretty tired but I’ll drive all night if I have to.”

She clutched her hands against her chest. “That’s not…no, I don’t want to go home Sylvain, I was excited to go on this trip with you.”

The look he gave her made her want to run forward and hug him. Worry, panic, pain all seemed to be embroiled in his expression. “Then why have you been acting weird?”

Stupid Bernie. Stupid, stupid, stupid. She ruined everything. If only she was a better actor. “I…I overheard your conversation with my dad,” she murmured. She noticed a small rock by her foot and kicked it. It fell into the flowing tide.

“You did huh? Well I hope I sounded super cool at least….oh wait…” His eyes widen. “Wait, you heard…all of it?”

“The…most important bits..” She looked at him and it was hard to tell in the warm light but he was definitely turning a shade of red.

“Oh Seiros. Oh Seiros.”He covered his face with his hands. “I didn’t…damn it, I wanted to say it like here, on the beach at sunset but you knew already.”

Oh no. It was true then after all. She should turn him down right? That’s what all the characters did in the books and TV shows. However there was only a fifty percent chance he would still be her friend after something like that. What was she going to do if Sylvain didn’t want to just be friends with her?

“Ack, no wonder you were acting weird, that’s an awkward thing to overhear with zero context.” He cleared his throat. “Let me try it again with you here and not like, declaring it in front of your dad.”

“Sure?” she stammered. That was one thing she should do right? Let him say it and get all the words out. But this was just…so weird and awkward.

Sylvain took a deep breath, stepped forward, and grasped both of Bernadetta’s hands in his own. He stared intently into her eyes until she could feel herself blushing from how awkward it was.

“Bernie, I know we haven’t known each other for long. Well, physically in real life I mean. I think I’ve known you for more than two years now if we count all of our online chatting.”

Bernadetta felt her mind screaming. There was a whole speech for it!? She had to sit through the whole speech before turning him down. How was she going to manage this!?

“But anyway, you’ve become very important to me, honestly, I’m probably closer to you in some ways than I am to my childhood friends. Which is saying something.” He cleared his throat. “So uh, wow, this is so much harder to do when you actually mean the words.

“So, what I wanted to say is, I’m platonically in love with you Bernie.”

“Sylvain, I’m sorr-what?” She stared at him as she tried to process what he had said. “Wait, you’re…what?”

“Well, I love you Bernie…in a platonic way. And I just wanted you to know that.” He released her hands and rubbed the back of his neck as he looked at the water sheepishly. By this point, the sun had set and the moon was starting to rise. It was close to a full moon and the beach was brightly lit, making it quite easy for Bernadetta to see his expression.

Well, she was trying to process everything he just said. “So when you were declaring that you…loved me to my dad?”

“I ignored a few words here and there because he still thinks we are dating right? Or together or something. I thought being passionate to get him to let you go on this trip would work, but I had to rely on my Plan B after all. Your dad is not swayed by emotions.”

Bernadetta let out a long sigh of relief as she leaned forward and rested her hands on her knees. “Oh thank Seiros it was only that.”

“Okay, of all possible reactions, I wasn’t expecting that one.”

She lifted her head. “I thought it was something else…something…more romantic you were implying. I was worried because…”

“Oh. _Oh_. Oh.” Sylvain shivered. “Yeah no, I love you but not like…no, not at all.” He made a face. “That gave me shivers.”

“Yeah, me too. I was worried about having to turn you down and stuff and how awkward the rest of this trip would be.”

“Oh I agree, that would make things super awkward…it’s not awkward right now right?”

She shook her head. “Not at all.” She bit her lip and debated on it but hey, he had already been super open with her and it probably took him a lot of courage to say that, she might as well respond herself right? “I love you too Sylvain. Platonically.”

He grinned and without warning, he swept Bernadetta into a tight bear hug and lifting her up in the air. “I love you Bernie! So, so much.”

She giggled. “You said that already Sylvain.”

“Well I’m saying it again. And I’ll keep saying it. I’ll say it until you’re tired of me saying it.”

“You say that now but I did bring _Awakening_ with me and I was thinking of you trying it on maddening mode.”

“Wait, what. Bernie, no. how could you do this to me?” He released her and looked like a sad puppy.

“Okay maybe I’ll let you play on casual…and I’ll tell you what to do.”

“I like the sound of that very much.” He put an arm around her. “It’s already getting late, should we order some takeout? There’s a ton of restaurants that deliver up here.”

“Sure,” replied Bernadetta as she followed Sylvain back to the house.


	33. Chapter 33

On Sylvain’s birthday, Bernadetta got up early and extracted herself from Sylvain’s arms. He had been attempting Zelda late into the night and they had fallen asleep on his bed together.

“Bernie?” he mumbled, cracking open an eye as she got up.

“Go back to sleep Sylvain,” she whispered.

“But…Bernie…” he whined, reaching for her. “I need Bernie…Bear…”

He was definitely half asleep.

She rolled her eyes. “You’ll be fine Sylvain.”

After going through her morning routine, she headed into the kitchen and began the process of baking a cake. While the cakes were cooking in the oven, she mixed up the frosting and had it set on the stand mixer. She was surprised that the Gautier family even had one in their summer home but Sylvain admitted it was more for the fact it fit the look of the room rather than it being used practically.

Well it was good for her because making buttercream by hand took a lot of arm strength.

By the time the cakes came out of the oven and were on the racks to cool, Sylvain wandered out of the bedroom. “Why are you baking at like ten in the morning?”

“Cause it’s your birthday Sylvain,” she replied. “I wanted to make you a birthday cake.”

His eyes widen. “What, you shouldn’t have Bernie.”

“Well it’s a little late now.” She gestured to the cakes. “I still need to stack and frost them…”

“is there anything I can help you with?” He poured a cup of coffee for himself from the coffee pot(Bernadetta had turned it on earlier).

She shook her head. “I got it. It’s your birthday cake Sylvain, you can’t help.”

“I mean, I don’t think there is anything in the birthday rules that says I can’t.”

She glared at him.

“But I guess I’ll make this an exception. But you can’t make me go away! I’ll hang out with you.” He pulled out the chair from under the island counter and sat down.

Well, it was better than nothing at least. Shrugging, Bernadetta got back to work on the cake and before long she had a three-tiered frosted cake ready to go.

“Dang Bernie, is there anything you can’t do?” He looked at the cake, impressed. “You bake, embroider, write, like you do everything!”

“I don’t do everything,” she protested.

“Well can we eat it now or do we have to wait for later? Cake for lunch isn’t weird right?”

“We could. Oh, wait, let me get your present.” She hurried to her room and pulled the book from the bottom of her bag. Was this even a good present? Would he like it? Maybe she should have gotten him something else, something designer.

No! This would be fine. He said he loved her stories so he had to like this right?

Gulping, she returned to the kitchen, the book in hand. Sylvain had his phone out, taking pictures of the cake. “I'm posting it on the group chat if that’s okay.”

Ah, no wonder her phone was going off in her pocket. “It’s fine,” she stammered. “Ummm…here’s your birthday present.” She nervously held out the book.

He took the book from her. “Thanks so much Bernie. It’s a book?”

“I…I wrote it,” she stammered. “Uh, I wrote this story for you. It was the idea I mentioned earlier…with the margrave boy and count girl.”

“You wrote me a story?! This is a whole novel!? Holy crap Bernie.” He flipped through, his eyes lighting up. “Oh man, I want to read it now, it’s so long. Do you mind? Or I can read it later, that’s cool too.”

“Whatever you want to do,” she stammered.

“Later, I’ll read it later.” He set it on the table. “Let’s eat cake for now!”

***

Later that night, Sylvain curled up in his room with the book Bernie wrote for him. The day had been fun and relaxing. Other than eating Bernie’s delicious cake, they went out into town and just wandered the shopping district. It was way different than every other birthday Sylvain had before. He was either at a party hosted by his friends or spending the day with a girl or three. Just having the day to spend one on one with a close friend was a different sort of happiness in and of itself.

He could tell her social battery was starting to dip so they decided to spend the evening on their own. He didn’t mind because that meant he could finally read the book she gave him!

The story itself was about a boy named Silvanus and a girl named Bernarde. Silvanus was a flirty playboy that wandered through life without a care in the world while Bernarde was a quiet, soft spoken girl that was usually alone and didn’t have any friends.

It was by a chance encounter that Silvanus and Bernarde met and became friends. He had found some of her writing and fell in love with it. He attempted many times to give it back to her but she kept fleeing him, scared that he might do something to her. After he was finally able to give it back to her, they slowly began talking more and a friendship was obviously growing between them. While this was happening, there were scenes of the duo training at the officer’s academy, mostly with a mercenary professor named Bilith.

And then the five-year timeskip happened.

A story that seemed to be focused mostly on the relationship between Silvanus and Bernarde turned into a story that focused on a war caused by the leader of the Black Hawks House. It went in a darker direction and focused on the two leads supporting each other while the hell of a war went on around them.

It was an amazing story that had Sylvain on the edge of his seat but at the same time he got the inkling that he had heard it before. Weird, since it was written by Bernie, but all of the scenes he could picture in vivid detail and soon enough it was like he was able to guess what was going to happen before it did.

The book ended as the war did, the brief epilogue stating that Silvanus and Bernarde stayed friends for the rest of their days and they would visit each other so often that they had a permanent room in the other’s home.

Sylvain closed the book and stared at the wall as he tried to process what in the world he just read. It was amazing, like everything else Bernie wrote but at the same time it felt very personal. Like Bernie saw something in Sylvain that he himself didn’t know and managed to put it down on paper. And it really didn’t have anything to do with the fact that Silvanus and Bernarde were based on the two of them.

He rested the book on the table before getting up to look for Bernie. Like he thought, she was in her room and he knocked on the door. “Bernie?”

“Come in!” she called.

Opening the door, he saw she was sitting on the bed with her laptop on her lap. She set it down on the bed as he walked over.

“I finished reading the book.”

“Already?” she squeaked.

“I mean, it took me like five hours but yeah.”

“So?” she whispered.

He sat on the bed. “It was…something. A good something,” he added quickly when he saw her face fall slightly. “I loved it a lot! The characterization between Silvanus and Bernarde, their relationship is so cute and I was dawing way too many times whenever they interacted. It was weird but I felt like it happened before when I read it? In like a, ‘I know this story but don’t know why’ kind of way. I mean, I know I haven’t read it before but…”

He grimanced, realizing she might take it the wrong way. “I mean, not in a bad way. It was just something I noticed.”

“I get it,” Bernie said softly. “I got the same feeling too while writing it. The words just flowed out of me. I didn’t even do much story editing. But…I hope it was a good birthday present?”

“It was the best!” He reached out and gave her a tight hug. “I got a personal story written for me by Fluffyteddybear48! What is there not to love about it? Especially when you become a famous author someday.”

“Sylvain, really….”

“Let me dream big for you Bernie! I’m allowed to as your best friend.”

She sighed. “Fine, fine, you can.”

“Yay, perfect.” He loosened his grip but kept his arms around her. “It was a super good story Bernie. I’ll treasure it.”

“Okay,” she murmured.

He released her and stood. “Anyway, just wanted to tell you all that, I’ll leave you to whatever you were doing now. We have three days left of this trip and it has to be perfect right?”

“Yeah,” she said with a smile. “We have to make all the best memories.”

He had to mirror her smile before shutting her door and heading back to his room.


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for this chapter: Bernadetta does go into detail about some of the abuse she faced from her father.

There was no way Bernadetta could do this. This was the one thing she was dreading about this whole trip, the one thing she hoped the weather would be so crappy that she would not have to do it. Or they would be busy with other things. Like yesterday when they spent the time together wandering the shops or the day before where they watched some dramas, alas today was a bright and sunny day and Sylvain said the words Bernadetta didn’t really want to hear.

“Let’s spend the day at the beach.”

She stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her one piece bathing suit covered more than it showed and there was some frills for some more coverage but her thighs were exposed for the world to see. She pinched the skin of her thigh. Nope, no way, way too much showing.

“Bernie you ready?” Sylvain knocked on her door.

“Almost!” She grabbed a pair of shorts and threw them on along with a sweatshirt. There, this felt more like her. The shorts were a little higher than she normally liked them to be but it covered way more than the swimsuit did. And this counted since she was wearing the swimsuit under it, right? “Sorry to keep you waiting,” she murmured, as she opened the door.

Unlike her, Sylvain had way more self-confidence, he was in a pair of swimming trunks with a light summer jacket unzipped over it. It was quite obvious he worked out a bit and Bernie drew her eyes up to his face, realizing this was technically the first time she had seen him shirtless(minus the time she had knocked on his dorm room). Even when he showered, he always came out with a shirt on.

“I have all of the beach stuff ready by the door,” he said. “I got all the pails to make a sand castle and the towels and whatnot.”

“Great,” Bernadetta said softly, following him through the house and out the back door and onto the beach. “It’s really nice that you have your own private beach.”

“Yeah I guess.” Sylvain shrugged as he zipped up his light jacket. “Forgot how much colder it is on the shore,” he commented before dropping the bag onto the sand. “You want to make a sand castle first? Oh! There’s some tide pools over there.” He grinned. “I remember when we were kids, Felix would help me find starfish and then I would chase Ingrid while holding one.” He sighed and shook his head. “Alas, it never went well for me.”

“I can imagine,” said Bernadetta with a giggle. She blinked. “Wait, you’ve been here with Felix and Ingrid?”

“And Dimitri.” Sylvain pointed to the sides of the beach. “Our families own all of the homes and beaches on this strip and we’ve taken many vacations together over the years.”

“Oh wow.” She bit her lip. “Are you not going to see them at the beach this year?”

Sylvain shrugged. “Probably not but that’s just because everyone is busy now that we’re older. Oh that reminds me! There’s going to be a big family BBQ at the end of Verdant Rain Moon. You should come.”

“Oh I couldn’t,” she stammered. “It’s a family thing…”

“I’m using the term family loosely. It’s a get together of mine, Ingrid, Felix and Dimitri’s families but we do invite other people. I know Annette is coming and so is Mercedes. Please Bernie?”

“Uh, I’ll think about it,” she stammered. It did sound like fun but at the same time it sounded like a lot of people. But it would be nice to see everyone before school started again in the fall. But that was a lot of people. Oh Bernie, what was she supposed to do?

“So, what do you want to do first? Tide pools?” His eyes sparkled.

“Sure, but you better not try chasing me with a starfish.”

***

Sylvain was so stupid.

He never asked if Bernie could swim. Or if she was comfortable wearing a swimsuit. Or, what she liked to do on the beach. He peered into the closest tide pool, pretending to look for something in it, but out of the corner of his eye, he watched Bernie. She was peering in the tide pool next to him, seemingly enthralled by whatever she was seeing in it.

She was in shorts and a hoodie, the hoodie not exactly something a person would wear to the beach. Well the shorts made sense. Was she not okay with wearing a swimsuit in public? Gah, why didn’t he think of that!?

He had also noticed that she had uncomfortably shifted her eyes away when she was looking at him with the jacket unzipped. She probably didn’t want to say it, but he knew what she was implying with that. He never did walk around or cuddle with her without a shirt on. Of course it would be uncomfortable and weird for her.

Well to be honest it was weird for him too. It had taken way too much courage to knock on the Bernie’s door with the jacket unzipped. Him! Sylvain of all people that didn’t care about the photos he posted online, showing off, well almost everything was nervous about the idea of Bernie seeing him without a shirt on. Hopefully his attempt of smoothly zipping up his jacket wasn’t too awkward or weird. Or was it? Gah, if only he could text his friends for help!

“Oh wow, there’s a fish in this one!” gasped Bernie.

“What? Let me see!” Sylvain slid closer to her and peered into the pool. “Holy crap there is a fish, it looks so cool! I wonder if it would be safe to poke.”

“Sylvain, the fish is minding its own business, you probably shouldn’t poke it.”

“But…it looks so pokable.”

Bernie giggled. “Is that even a word?”

“Well it is now,” he huffed. He got up and walked over to another tide pool. “Oh, there’s a starfish in this one!”

“You’re not going to try to chase me with that are you?” She took a tentative step back.

“Of course not Bernie! I was like, nine when I did that for the last time.” He hung his head. “I can’t believe you think so lowly of me.”

“No, I didn’t mean,” she stammered.

“I was joking Bernie.” He reached over and ruffled her hair a bit and gave her a wide smile. “Anyway, that’s all the tide pools, you want to make a sand castle or something?” He hopped down the rocks and held out a hand to help Bernie.

“Sure.” She yelped as her foot caught on a rock and she pitched forward.

Sylvain quickly moved forward and her head banged painfully against his chest. He winced, what in the world was her head made out of to be so hard!? “You okay Bernie?”

“Uh yeah,” she stammered. He kept his hands on her arms until she got her balance. “Sorry.”

“No problem, my super-fast reflexes come in handy at a time like this! If only it could help me do stuff in Zelda though.”

Bernie giggled. “You just need practice Sylvain. Just…lots and lots of practice.”

“You make it sound so simple,” he grumbled. He reached for her hand and led the way back to their things. “So I got buckets, shovels, those cool molds.”

Bernie pulled up the sleeves of her jacket. “Let’s do this,” she said with a nod.

****

Bernadetta rubbed the sweat from her brow and looked at their handiwork. A huge sand castle stared back at them. Multiple towers with a few arches, and a couple of makeshift stick flags, it wasn’t the best sand castle in the world but she had to say it was best she had ever made. Especially since Sylvian apparently had an eye for design and he made sure it was constructed sturdy enough that it wouldn’t fall over but still be aesthetically pleasing.

She glanced over and saw Sylvain was taking pictures of the sand castle on his phone. “Come on Bernie, go behind it, I want to get a selfie of us so I can put it in the group chat.”

After the picture was taken, Bernadetta began putting away the supplies. “Uh, if you want to swim, you can go ahead.”

Sylvain frowned. “What about you Bernie? You aren’t going to swim?”

“Uh well…” Bernadetta shuffled her feet.

Sylvain blinked slowly. “Do you want to go swim for a bit? I’ll go inside while you do if you want.”

“Huh?”

He winced and rubbed the back of his neck. “I mean, I…oh how I do I say this without it sounding super insensitive…like you obviously are uncomfortable with being seen in a swimsuit and all but you also sound like you want to go in the water so uh…” He sighed. “I’m just digging myself into a bigger hole aren’t I? Anyway, I just meant if it was more comfortable for you, I’ll go inside so you can go into the water and have fun and stuff. This is a private beach so no one else is out here except us so you will be one hundred percent alone…and stuff.”

Bernadetta looked down at the castle supplies she was putting away. That was sweet of him, she had to admit but wasn’t one of the fun things about going to the beach was playing in the water with friends? Doing it alone sounded kind of sad to be honest.

This was Sylvain though. He probably wouldn’t tease her about it, heck, she couldn’t even picture him teasing her about it. He wouldn’t be overly critical or say she was gaining too much weight or eating too much or she didn’t walk straight or her posture was bad…

“Hey Bernie? You okay? You have that look in your eye again.” He moved over to her and put an arm around her shoulders and rested his head on hers. “You’re thinking about stuff involving your dad again aren’t you?”

She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “A bit.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

She bit her lip. Did she? But this was a vacation, bringing up that kind of stuff now…

“You heard me talk about my brother, it’s fine Bernie. You can tell me.”

That was true wasn’t it? She did know about the stuff Miklan did to Sylvain. Maybe she could tell him about some of it at least. As if sensing that she was ready talk about it, he shifted his position so he was sitting directly behind her and he put his arms around her stomach and pulled her closer so her back was against his chest and he rested his head on top of hers. His long legs were on either side of her but it didn’t make her feel caged, it was safe, comforting even.

Bernadetta picked up some sand and let it fall in between her fingers. “My dad was kind of…obsessed with me being a good wife when I was younger.”

“What do you mean?” Sylvain frowned.

“He wanted a son but that didn’t happen so he was all about trying to make sure I was a good wife. There was a lot of…training.”

“What kind of training?” Sylvain’s voice had a slight edge to it that made her shiver.

“Lots of etiquette, the whole having to balance a book on my head while trying to walk in a straight line, that sort of thing. He yelled a lot though whenever I messed up. A whole lot. He also tied me to a chair once because I kept trying to escape the trainings and hide…”

“Does he still do that kind of stuff now?” Sylvain asked quietly.

“No, nothing like that. He ignores me most of the time, unless, well, you know. My mom ended up getting me a therapist when I was a kid because she realized I was getting so agoraphobic I wasn’t leaving my room and well, I ended up saying a few things that got my dad in trouble. I never had lessons like that after that. Just a lot of verbal comments. But nothing bad of like that level, my dad learned his lesson-”

She yelped as Sylvain’s grip tightened around her and he buried his head into her shoulder, his legs pressing against hers. “Sylvain!?”

“F him,” murmured Sylvain.

“Huh?”

“F-him. How could he do something like that to you?! Holy crap, I agreed to do business with that son of a bitch, I shook his hand.”

She turned around, the venom in his voice scaring her. “It’s okay, I’m fine Sylvian. Like I said, it’s just comments now, it’s okay, I’m okay.”

“You aren’t okay though.” He pushed a few strands of her hair behind an ear. “He still has a hold on you Bernie. And that doesn’t erase what he did to you.”

Bernadetta gulped. What in the world was she supposed to say to that? She wasn’t sure, she had never seen anyone act so concerned about her well-being like this, except for her mom but even she struggled to stand up to Henrick.

“I wish I could do more to help you,” he whispered. “I guess with me securing the business deal though, it will get him off your back about certain things. You know, us fake dating and stuff but…” He hugged her tight.

She buried her face in his chest. She had told the story many times to her therapists over the years but it felt different than telling it to Sylvain. It was like telling someone who partly understood what she was going through.

After a couple minutes he pulled away, his eyes slightly red. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

“That’s…that’s okay. Thanks for listening to me.”

“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “So, uh, the beach. That’s why we were here and stuff.”

“Oh right, the beach.” She looked at the crystal clear water and then at Sylvain. Her therapist always said she had to start somewhere right? And getting all of that out to Sylvain, gave her a bit of courage. “Why don’t we go in the water together?”

“You sure?”

Bernadetta nodded and stood and before her nerves got ahead of her, she slipped off the hoodie and shorts. She didn’t realize how warm it was wearing all that over her swimsuit was until she took it off. She was actually feeling comfortable now.

Sylvain unzipped his jacket and tossed it in the pile of their clothes. “If it’s too weird, I can put it back on,” he said quickly, his neck slightly red. “Your swimsuit is cute by the way, love the frills.”

“Oh, uh, thank you,” she stammered. Her nerves were swinging back in full force and she didn’t know what was worse, her in a swimsuit or shirtless Sylvain. Which was a ridiculous comparison, since she had seen pictures of him shirtless online before. Exposure therapy, she reminded herself. So much exposure therapy.

“So uh, shall we?” Sylvain held out a hand.

***

For once Bernie fell asleep before Sylvain when they cuddled that night. He propped his head up with his free hand as he looked down at her. After an awkward start, the two played in the water without a care in the world, Sylvain splashing her with water and Bernie retaliating with waves of her own. He forgot how strong her arms were due to archery, the water flying at him way faster than it had any right to be.

They got out around sunset, and after a quick shower, they had hot pot. A weird dish to have in the summer but they had all of the ingredients in the fridge so why not? After dinner was another couple of episodes of the drama they were watching until it was so late that they had to go to bed before they fell asleep on the couch.

And now here they were. Bernie fast asleep snuggled against his chest and Sylvain awake. He knew he was definitely going to need to talk to his therapist about this. He was happy that Bernie was so open with him now but at the same time, all those things had happened to her and he felt helpless about it. All he wanted to do was kick Henrick or do, something, anything to make him go away. Alas he couldn’t though.

And it wasn’t like Sylvain could buy out the Varley family’s property either, that would hurt Bernie, especially since it was Henrick that was paying for her to go to college in the first place. For now all he could really do was support her as best he could, and he would, not matter what.


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for how short it is but I wanted a transition chapter before the next section.

“How was your trip with Sylvain?” Emery, Bernadetta’s mother, stood in the doorway of Bernadetta’s bedroom.

Bernadetta looked up from unpacking everything from her trip. “Fine,” she said softly. “It was fun.”

“That’s good to hear.” Emery took a few steps into the room and seemed to be checking on the small plants on Bernadetta’s dresser. “It’s nice that you were able to get out for a time.”

“How was Dad after I left?” Bernadetta clutched the shirt she had just pulled out of the bag to her chest.

“He was fine. Excited to have some prospects in the Gautier household. Your father is all business like always.”

“Yeah,” murmured Bernadetta. Thankfully he had already left for another business trip by the time Bernadetta got home. She didn’t want to imagine the kinds of questions he would have for her. She bit her lip. “So, Sylvain invited me to the family BBQ next month. I mean, it isn’t just his family, so I won’t be intruding, uh a couple of his other family friends are going to be there along with their families.”

Emery chuckled. “Bernie, you are old enough to make your own decisions about these sorts of matters. I am okay with you going and I can see your father will be as well, since there will be other families there. Other possible business partners I assume?”

“Uh yeah,” she stammered. Well, and Annette and Mercedes, which Bernadetta wasn’t sure how wealthy their families were.

“I don’t think there will be any problem with your father then. Anyway, I’ll leave you to your unpacking Bernie. I do not have any business this evening so shall we get some dinner? A new romantic comedy came out.”

Bernadetta nodded. “Sounds good Mom.” Get went back to putting away her clothes, finally finding Bernie Bear at the bottom. “Sorry, you got stuck under there.” She fluffed out the fur and gave the bear an apologetic hug before looking to her bed, currently covered in stuffed animals. Where in the world was she going to put the bear? Probably one of her other animals needed to be moved. After some debating, she decided to take one of her stuffed dogs and moved it to her display area on the dresser before setting the bear in its place on her bed.

She pulled out her phone and took a picture and sent it to Sylvain. _“Bernie Bear is enjoying spending time with her new friends!”_ She added a smiley face at the end of the text and sent it. He was probably already on the road and unable to see the text for a while. She had offered him to come inside for a bit but Sylvain refused. After doing a few stretches he said he wanted to get back on the road because he had a long car ride home but Bernadetta wondered if it was because he was tired of spending time with her.

She shook her head, remembering how Sylvain gave her a long hug before she walked into her house and whispered, “Love you Bernie,” into her ear before leaving. That was not the kind of stuff one said if they were “tired” of someone right?

“Stupid anxiety, calm down,” she grumbled as threw her clothes into the hamper.

She heard her phone go off and she picked it up and saw it was a message from Sylvain saying how cute her bed set up was. _“Aren’t you supposed to be driving!? That isn’t safe.”_

 _“Don’t worry Bernie, I stopped at a rest stop to get gas. And get a few more snacks for the road.”_ He sent a picture of himself by the pump, with his other hand up in a peace sign.

_“I don’t think you’re supposed to use your phone near the pumps. But let me know when you get to your hotel for the night.”_

He sent a thumbs up emoji back. 

She put her phone down, and now that all of her clothes were put away, she glanced at her half-finished commission for Annette. Now that there was a deadline, Bernadetta knew she had to get back to work on it. After cracking her fingers, she pulled out her sewing supplies from their spot under her bed and got to work.


	36. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cue me being annoyed we don't have names of a few characters' parents and family members.

Sylvain’s arms ached as he dropped firewood next to the firepit and tried to remove all the dirt and pieces of bark off his fingers. “Okay Ingrid, next time I help you out with this, I insist on wearing the gloves. Look, my hands are scraped a little. How are girls going to love me now?”

Ingrid picked up one of the pieces of firewood and gave him a knowing look. “You want to keep talking?”

Sylvain clamped his mouth shut and looked away. “I think I’ll check on how Felix and Annette are doing,” he said quickly, before fleeing, ignoring Ingrid yelling at him to come back.

Every year, a different family hosted the summer BBQ and this year was the Fraldarius family’s turn. Despite the families being rich enough to have the staff host the whole event, this was a family gathering, the decorations, the food, everything done by members of the families.

It took him a couple minutes but he found Felix, Annette, and Glenn in the kitchen, helping Dimitri’s parents with making the side dishes. Well, it was more Felix was helping. Annette was holding a wooden spoon and her eyes were narrowed as she stared at Glenn.

“Hiya!” she yelled, slapping the spoon on Glenn’s knuckle as he tried to steal a bite from the potato salad.

Sylvain sighed. “You’ve never been able to get past her last year.”

“Hey now, perseverance is a great trait to have in a man.” Glenn shook out his hand. “Seriously Annette, you have a strong wrist there.”

Annette grinned. “That’s ten for me and zero for you.”

Well at least she was making it fun. Based on Felix’s horror stories, it was important to keep Annette away from doing any cooking. This kept her busy and kept the kitchen safe.

“Let me guess, you’re trying to get away from Ingrid,” said Felix with a roll of his eyes.

“Maybe,” Sylvain said slowly. “Did you know she took the gloves so I had to do it barehanded? Look at my hands! They’re going to be so chapped up by the end of this!”

Felix rolled his eyes. “You’re so dramatic.”

Lambert chuckled as he started pulling out containers of the various marinating meats out of the fridge. “Oh the joys of being young. Here you go dear.”

Katerina took them from her husband and set them on the counter. She turned to Sylvain. “Don’t you have to leave soon if I recall? You’re bringing a friend this time?”

“Oh yeah, when’s Bernie’s plane landing?” asked Felix.

“In about an hour and a half,” said Sylvain, checking his phone.

Annette clapped her hands. “I can’t wait to talk to her in person, I feel like it’s been forever. And she’s bringing that bug plushie I commissioned from her, it looks super cute.”

“Whoa hang on, bug plushie?” asked Glenn.

Annette pulled out her phone. “Let’s see I had it saved…here it is.”

“Holy crap, that’s cute. I might have to get her to make me something for Ingrid. Oh, maybe a plushie of her horse.”

“You can ask her when she gets here, although she does under-charge so make sure to tip her super well! She kept me in the loop the whole time and sent me so many progress photos and asked my opinion on everything.”

“Well, good to keep in mind.”

“You should probably head over there now, traffic can get backed up a bit there and you wouldn’t want to keep your girlfriend waiting,” said Lambert with a smile.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Sylvain said quickly.

“Dear, Dimitri explained this to us.” Katerina gave Lambert a knowing look.

“Oh, right, I remember.” Lambert cleared his throat. “Sorry about that Sylvain. It’s just your parents mentioned that you speak about her so positively…”

“Don’t worry, sometimes we forget as well,” Felix said with a roll of his eyes.

Sylvain made sure his keys were in his pocket and he had his phone before heading for his car, a skip in his step. Sure they talked online regularly but it had been close to a month since they had last seen each other in person. Was it too weird to say that he felt touch-starved? Sure he saw a few of his girls over the break and there was plenty of touching involved, but it was way different than how he felt when he was hugging or cuddling Bernie. Well, at least in good news, it seemed like Henrick was leaving Bernie alone for the most part and he said nothing regarding her going on this trip but Sylvain knew it was most likely due to the business deals.

Thankfully his parents were okay with Sylvain’s deals, the proposal was sound, and there wasn’t much risk to the Gautier family. All he needed to worry about now was keeping in contact with Henrick for a monthly report. He didn’t want anything to do with that slimy s.o.b. but this was to help keep Bernie safe and happy and Sylvain was willing to do it.

That was a problem for another day, right now he had to get to the airport to pick her up.

***

Bernadetta had thought taking a plane to Faerghus County would be smarter than driving but flying triggered her anxiety in a whole other way. Being stuck in a metal tube, thousands of miles in the air with no way to escape? Thankfully being in first class meant that she had some space to herself without being crowded by others so at least she could have her panic attack alone without anyone but the stewards watching her.

As she walked off the plane and into the terminal, she dreaded the trip home in a couple of days. Of course she stopped thinking about that as she followed the crowd towards the exit. Airports had way too many signs and places to go. Thankfully she didn’t have to struggle with picking up checked baggage since she only brought a carry-on with her.

She stepped out of the gate and into the waiting area and found a small corner to herself. Time to text Sylvain that she was here. Originally her plan was to take a taxi to his house but he insisted on picking her up.

Halfway through the text, she heard her name being called. She looked up in surprise and saw Sylvain hurrying over to her with a bright smile.

“Good timing, I was just about to text you.” She shoved her phone in her pocket just in time as Sylvain gave her a tight bear hug.

“Missed you Bernie. I feel like it’s been forever since we’ve talked.”

“We talked yesterday.”

“But that’s not the same, it was over the phone, this is in person.” He pulled back and gave her a once over. “You don’t look too good. Plane ride went okay?”

She sighed. “It’s been a couple years since the last time I went on a plane but apparently I still don’t like it. Had a panic attack. But I’m okay now though,” she said quickly. “Sylvain, I can carry it,” she protested as he reached for her suitcase.

He shook his head. “It’s fine, I got it. Anyway, I parked over here.” He began leading the way. “So, the plan is we stop by my house to drop off your stuff and you can freshen up and change and whatnot and then we’ll head over to Felix’s place. If we time it well, we can get there when the food is just about ready.”

“Oh, but I wanted to help,” she stammered. “I feel bad just arriving to eat.”

“It’s okay! It’s your first year and I know you had to grab the plane tickets at the last minute. You’re the first guest I’m bringing so you get special privileges.”

“I hope your family likes me,” she stammered. “And well, everyone else’s…”

“Don’t worry, you’ll do fine Bernie. I know it.”

***

Bernadetta was only here for two hours and already she felt like her social battery was drained out. It was fun but very, very loud. Music blasted from speakers as everyone sat around two large bonfires, enjoying each other’s company and talking about everything and anything.

The adults had their own circle around one bonfire while the college aged students had another. Dimitri’s younger siblings were running around, playing a game of their own.

Despite there being enough chairs, Sylvain insisted Bernadetta sit in his lap and he loosely put his arms around her waist, his head resting on her shoulder. She would have found it embarrassing if she was the only one sitting like this but Ingrid was sitting in Glenn’s lap. Surprisingly Annette and Felix weren’t doing this, instead they sat with their chairs close together and Annette had the bug plushie Bernadetta had made in her lap. Bernadetta was relieved that Annette like it. Making plushies for others was very nerve wracking and she was always second guessing herself.

“You should think about starting a business Bernadetta,” said Dimitri. “Your work is exquisite, I can see you turning a profit with it.”

“Come on Dimitri, not everything has to be about business. Although like I said if you want to take on more commissions…” Glenn gave Bernadetta knowing look.

“What kind of stuffed animal would you even want?” Ingrid looked back at Glenn in disbelief. “I don’t even think you’ve ever looked at one.”

“I had a stuffed wolf when I was a child,” protested Glenn.

“And what happened to it?”

“Well I gave it to Felix, I still think he has it.”

“Really?” asked Annette with bright eyes.

“Don’t give them the wrong idea,” grumbled Felix.

Glenn chuckled and gave Bernadetta knowing look and held up his phone. Guess she would be talking with him later about that horse plush.

“Uh Sylvain, I’m going to get a drink.”

“You want me to come with?”

She shook her head. “No, I’ll be okay.” He gave her a quick squeeze before pulling his arms away from her waist. She hopped up and walked over to the large food table near the back entrance.

An older woman was standing there, pouring herself a drink and she turned to Bernadetta as she approached. If Bernadetta remembered correctly, this was Sylvain’s mother, Adrienne. It was easy to see the similarities, her red hair close to Sylvain’s shade, the shape of her nose the same as his. It was also obvious she used her money well to get enough plastic surgery that her skin was smooth.

“Hello Bernie. I hope my son isn’t giving you too much trouble.”

Bernadetta shook her head. “No, not at all. Uh, thank you for letting me stay at your house. This weekend and also over spring break.”

Adrienne waved Bernadetta’s concern away. “It’s no problem at all dear. I’m glad Sylvain was able to make some more positive friendships. He really needs to branch out more. Also he’s been taking steps in really learning the family business so I can’t complain much there. But ah, I probably shouldn’t be taking too much of your time. Are you here to get a drink?”

“Uh yeah and partly to get a little time to myself.” It was much quieter over here than near the bonfire.

“Ah yes, totally understandable.” She glanced at Dimitri’s younger siblings running around. “I am quite glad I stopped at two. Bless Lambert and Katerina for deciding to have many more. Do you have any siblings?”

Bernadetta shook her head. “No. Only me.”

“Well you seem like a sweet one, you probably didn’t give your parents any trouble.”

Bernadetta forced a small smile. If only Adrienne knew.

“Oh, where are my manners. Let me get you a drink.”

“No, it’s okay, I can get it,” said Bernadetta quickly.

“No, I insist. I’m pretty good at mixing a few things together. Sylvain and my husband can attest to that.” Her eye twinkled as she began grabbing a few bottles.

“Uh, okay,” stammered Bernadetta. She awkwardly stood to the side and decided to just enjoy having a little bit of time to herself. She took out her phone and checked her messages. She had written a few Chrom and Robin one-shots recently and had been slowly posting them on her page. She was itching to start a new longer work but was still trying to come up with possible ideas that could extend that long.

“And here you go. I realized I didn’t ask what kinds of drinks you like but it’s quite fruity and sweet.”

“Thank you,” Bernadetta said politely, taking it from her. It was a nice orange color, ice clinking in the glass. Realizing Adrienne was waiting for her, Bernadetta took a sip. It had a nice fruity taste but there was something in the back of it that she didn’t recognize. “It’s nice,” she said politely, taking another sip.

“Glad to hear that.” Adrienna patted Bernadetta on the back. “Let me know if you want another.”

“I will,” said Bernadetta with a nod as she took another sip. It made her belly warm and her face flush but the taste was good. She headed back to Sylvain with her drink, almost stumbling as she walked.


	37. Chapter 37

“And then I told him if you don’t give me the deal, I’m never playing golf with you ever again.” Glenn’s eyes glinted with mischief. “And guess what? I got the deal.”

“I still don’t understand your method of conducting business.” Dimitri shook his head with a sigh.

“It’s a Glenn specialty and only Glenn can do it.” Ingrid rolled her eyes as she leaned back into him.

“You know you love me for it.” Glenn gave Ingrid a quick peck on the cheek.

Annette clapped. “You two are so lovely, dovey, it’s so cute!” she squealed.

Felix cleared his throat and looked to the side, his face slightly red. Or it might be from the alcohol.

Sylvain had a few drinks himself and he felt a bit of a buzz. Currently he was waiting to sober up a bit before drinking more. He may like the taste and feeling of drinking alcohol but getting drunk enough to not know what he was doing? No thank you.

“Oh, welcome back Bernie.” Annette waved to her.

“Welcome back…” Bernie giggled.

Sylvain looked at her in confusion as that giggle seemed so out of place for her. He immediately noted her face was red and she was stumbling slightly. She was holding a drink and it didn’t take much for Sylvain to put together that it was probably one of his mother’s famous mixed drinks.

He quickly got up and walked over to her and pulled the drink from her hand before she could sip it again. “I think you’ve had enough alcohol Bernie.”

She blinked up at him in confusion. “But I don’t drink alcohol…”

Oh Seiros. “Did you tell my mother that before she gave you a drink?”

“No… but your mom is a nice lady Sylvain. So nice.” She leaned into his side for a moment. “You’re so warm…personal heater…” A moment later she pulled away and would have fallen if Sylvain didn’t steady her. “No, you’re too warm Sylvain. It’s too warm.”

“Oh boy, looks like she can’t take her alcohol,” chuckled Glenn.

Ingrid elbowed Glenn in the side. “Stop it. You might want to take her home Sylvain, I don’t think she is going to sober up anytime soon.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so either.” Sylvain had to catch her again before she fell over.

“The ground is so spinny Sylvain. It’s spinning around.” She grabbed onto his arm. “I don’t want to fall. Don’t let me fall Sylvain.”

“Don’t worry, you won’t fall, I got you. Here, get on my back, I’ll carry you to my car.”

“I don’t want to, you’re too warm Sylvain. You need a cold setting. You’re _never_ cold when we cuddle.”

“How much do you two cuddle?” Felix looked at Sylvain slightly amused.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Sylvain retorted. “Fine Bernie, I won’t carry you but I’m going to hold onto you so you don’t fall alright?”

“Okay,” she said with a pout.

“Drunk you is way too cute, you know that?”

She giggled and reached up and bopped his nose. “You’re cute Sylvain.”

“Oh Seiros, they’re even more ridiculous,” groaned Felix.

“Will you be coming back after dropping her off?” asked Dimitri.

“Maybe. I’ll let you know.”

“You should probably go after her, she’s getting away.” Glenn gestured to the girl in question who was starting to wander in the wrong direction.

“How in the world are you such a handful while drunk?” Sylvain grabbed her shoulders and steered her in the direction of the parked cars.

“Why are you yelling at me?” Bernie pouted as she looked like she was going to cry.

“I’m not mad at you, it’s fine. You’re okay, I should have let my parents know you don’t drink so this is my fault.”

“No, it’s my fault.” She hiccupped. “I should have said something.”

Now at the cars, Sylvain unlocked the doors and opened the passenger door. By the time he turned around, Bernie was already wandering away with stumbling steps and he had to run over to get her and usher her into the car.

“It’s too tight,” she complained as he buckled the seat belt.

“Don’t take it off Bernie,” he said quickly as she attempted to do just that. He shut the door and quickly ran to the other side and got in. Bernie was playing with the seatbelt, pulling it away from her.

“I don't like it,” she whined when he pulled her hands away. "It's crushing me."

“Well you have to deal with it for a few minutes. Please Bernie? For me?” He batted his eyelashes at her.

She blinked slowly and slumped in her seat. “Fine…for you.” She began playing with the tie of her hoodie and Sylvain sighed in relief as he pulled out of the driveway and drove home as fast as he could.

Alas, she had not sobered up at all by the time they had gotten back to Sylvain’s house and it was an interesting experience trying to herd a wandering Bernie to the guest bedroom.

He made her sit on the bed as took off her shoes and socks for her. “Okay, now you better go to bed and sleep the rest of it off alright?”

“But I’m not sleepy,” she protested with a loud yawn.

“Sure you aren’t.” He gestured to the small side table. “I have some aspirin here along with a bottle of water for you to take in the morning. I don’t even want to think how bad your hangover is going to be.”

“But…”

“No buts, get into bed Bernie.” Thankfully she didn’t resist as he tucked her in. However when he tried to leave, she reached out and grabbed his arm.

“You don’t want to cuddle?” She looked like she was going to cry.

“Bernie, you’re drunk right now.”

“But we haven’t cuddled in so long.” She looked at him with innocent eyes. “Cuddle Sylvain! Cuddle.”

“Okay, okay. Don’t get out of bed. I’ll cuddle. Just give me a second alright?” He kicked off his shoes and he was barely able to get under the covers before Bernie snuggled against him, her head on his chest.

“You smell like smoke and the outside,” she complained.

“Well we were outside and by a campfire for the most part. Usually I shower before we cuddle Bernie, you know that.”

“But you don’t smell good,” she complained.

“Yes, yes I’m sorry I don’t smell good.” He rubbed lazy circles into her back, his head propped up with his other arm as he kept an eye on Bernie. Thankfully sleep seemed to be taking hold as her eyes slowly closed and she fell asleep against his chest.

“And you comment about me falling asleep fast when we cuddle.” He rolled his eyes and slowly reached for his phone, trying very hard to not jolt her too much and wake her. He quickly texted Felix, letting them know he wouldn’t be coming back tonight. There was no way he was going to be able to move without waking Bernie. Ah well, he had a fun time earlier and he got to spend it with Bernie, so even better!

He kept one arm around her while he browsed his phone with the other until he was tired and then he set his phone on the bedside table before snuggling in to get some sleep.

***

Bernadetta woke up feeling like a sledgehammer was bashing into her head over and over. Ugh, what happened? She squinted as she looked around the room, realizing she was in the guest room in Sylvain’s house. How did she get here? The last time she remembered was drinking what Adrienne gave her. After that it was just a blur.

It took her a moment to realize there was a glass of water and some aspirin on the bedside table along with a note.

_“Take the aspirin and drink the water. Your hangover is probably pretty bad. I went to take a shower but I’ll be back soon!”_

Hangover? Wait, this was a hangover? “That drink had alcohol in it!?” She winced as her own voice made her head hurt. She took the aspirin and downed the water and really hoped it would help. She spotted her phone sitting on the charger and she picked up and turned it on. The group text had been very active, and everyone was asking Bernie to let them know how she was feeling once she woke up.

_“I just woke up. I feel awful.”_ She added a sick sticker at the end.

_“Yeah, one of Ms. Gautier’s drinks can wipe you out if you aren’t careful,”_ replied Ingrid.

_“Take it easy for a few hours and you’ll be fine. Make sure to eat,”_ said Annette.

She looked up as Sylvain walked in, a towel around his neck. His hair was still wet. “Hey, you’re up. How’re you feeling?” he asked softly much to Bernadetta’s relief.

“Awful,” she said with a shake of her head. “Why do people like drinking? I think this cemented that I’m never drinking alcohol again.”

“Well, people usually like the high the night of. Also having one of my mother’s mixed drinks was probably not the best option for your first real drink.”

“I didn’t know it was alcohol,” she protested. “It looked like a fruit drink mix.” She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, not liking how oily it felt. She felt really dirty and dusty all over. “I don’t even remember what happened last night.”

“You were quite the troublemaker I would say,” said Sylvain with a chuckle.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you kept trying to wander away when I was taking you home and then you wouldn’t let me leave when I got you to bed. You insisted I stay and cuddle with you.”

Bernadetta’s face flushed. “I’m sorry Sylvain. I don’t remember any of that.”

He shrugged. “It’s okay.”

She looked down and wrung her hands together. “That meant you had to leave early…”

“It’s okay, really.” He stepped closer and hugged her, resting his head on top of hers. “We ate the food and got to get out of cleaning duty so I say it’s a win, win.”

“But I feel like I did nothing to help…”

“It’s cool Bernie, really! Now why don’t you take a shower? That’ll help you wake up a bit and I’ll go tell the chef to get breakfast ready.”

***

“How’s your friend doing?” Adrienne was sitting at the kitchen counter, drinking a cup of coffee while she was typing away on her laptop.

“She’s fine, she’s in the shower now.” Sylvain took the cup of coffee offered by the chef and gave the okay for him to make them breakfast. He sat on the other end of the counter, across from his mother. “Where’s Dad?”

“He has a meeting with a few stockholders. He’ll be back by tonight most likely if all goes well.” Adrienne gave Sylvain a knowing look. “Or would you prefer us not being home?”

“It’s not like that,” he murmured, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Oh really? I noticed that my son wasn’t in his room when we got back. Apparently he had gone into the guest room and not come out? And this happened the last time she was here as well?”

Sylvain’s face flushed. Damn the staff with their big mouths. “She’s just a friend. We’re not…it’s not like that at all. It’s just cuddling to go to sleep, nothing more.” He winced. That might be a little too much information but he _really_ didn’t want his mother thinking he was having sex with Bernie.

“Well she is much different than the type you usually bring over so I don’t think I can complain too much. She’s a sweet girl too, very polite. Honestly, how did you manage to become friends with someone that sweet and innocent?”

“I’m sometimes surprised myself to be honest,” he admitted. “But we met through a mutual interest in…a story.” Maybe that was the best way to put it. No way he could explain fanfiction to his mother.

“Huh, well I’m glad you are keeping a positive relationship then but you better be using protection unless you are planning on marrying her, I don’t want grandkids just yet and you have a reputation to somewhat uphold as a Gautier.”

“Mom, no.” Sylvain couldn’t help but shudder at the thought.

Adrienne looked at him thoughtfully. “Maybe you don’t see her like that.”

“Like what?”

She shook her head and closed her laptop. “I have a meeting myself to attend to. Tell Bernie I’m sorry about the drink okay?” She handed the cup to chef before power walking out of the room and despite her being a few rooms over, Sylvain could still clearly hear her ordering the chauffer to get her car out front.

“Waffles will be ready soon sir,” said the chef. “Powdered sugar on both?”

Sylvain nodded. “Extra on Bernie’s.”

“Of course.”

Sylvain was drinking coffee, and going through his texts when Bernie stumbled out into the kitchen, squinting slightly. “How’s your head doing?” he asked softly.

“I feel a little better but…” She climbed onto the other stool and Sylvain slid his closer so his shoulder was touching hers. “This just cements that I’m never having alcohol again. Thank you,” she said as the chef put down a plate of waffles in front of her.

“You up to spending the day with everyone?” asked Sylvain, looking at his phone.

“I think so…the headache is going away slightly.” Her happy smile was adorable as she devoured the waffles. “What’s the plan today anyway?”

“There’s a huge mall the next town over. It’s super cool, has a bunch of stores and plenty of places to eat. They even have a restaurant with a sushi conveyor belt!”

“That sounds awesome. It should be a lot of fun to spend time with everyone…for a lot longer.” She winced and rubbed her head. “They probably thought I was so stupid…”

“No they didn’t Bernie. They were more worried about you. You do not want to see the texts Ingrid sent me after I took you home. She wanted to make sure you got in bed okay and I wasn’t being a weirdo along other things.” He pouted. “Me? A weirdo? Where is she even getting that idea from?”

She giggled, reached over and patted him on the head. “There, there Sylvain.”

He could not help but grin and Bernie pulled her hand back, looking at him confused. “What?”

“Nothing,” he said lightly, focusing on his waffles. He had noticed that he was much more touchy-feely than she was and the fact she had reached out to give him a headpat without prompting made him feel so warm and fuzzy inside. He reached over and put an arm around her shoulder and gave her a light kiss on her hair. “Love you Bernie.”

“Love you too Sylvain,” she replied softly. “Uh, we should probably finish breakfast and get over there right?”


	38. Chapter 38

“Okay, is everyone accounted for? As the adult, I don’t want to come home missing a kid.” Glenn made a big show of counting heads.

Bernadetta understood the sentiment. They were a pretty large group, currently gathered in a corner near a mall entrance. She also felt slightly out of place, everyone else wearing t-shirts or tank-tops and shorts or capris and she was the only one in a light jacket. Faerghus, being further north, was so much colder than Adestrian, even in the peak of summer.

“Seriously? We all have cell phones,” grumbled Felix.

“Don’t worry, I will make sure Dimitri is able to return to the group safely,” said Dedue.

“My sense of direction isn’t that bad,” said Dimitri with a frown.

“You got lost the last time we came to this mall.” Ingrid shook her head. “We even had to call you over the intercom system.”

“That was a few years ago,” protested Dimitri.

“Why do you think we always insist you walk around with a buddy?” asked Sylvain with a laugh.

Dimitri blinked slowly. “Huh, I didn’t even think of that.”

Annette grasped Bernadetta’s hands. “There’s a cute shop that sells stuffed animals. Last time I was there, they had this giant teddy bear. It was bigger than me! And the shop owners were so nice and let me hug it.”

“I didn’t think you were ever going to let that thing go,” said Felix with a small smile.

She puffed out her cheek. “I had to say goodbye to Mr. Teddy Bear okay? It was a tearful farewell. I wonder if he’s still there…”

“Well we’ll just have to check then,” said Felix with a roll of his eyes.

“We should go there first. What do you think Bernie?”

“Oh, uh sure,” she stammered.

“So, I guess we’ll meet up in the food court for lunch?” asked Sylvain. “Since it seems like a couple of us want to go to different places.”

“Sounds good to me,” said Ingrid. “I need to look into getting some new clothes.”

“You all better keep your phones on you and charged, I don’t want to have to explain it to anyone’s parents that I lost one of you,” said Glenn in a half serious voice.

The group split up, Felix, Annette, Sylvain and Bernadetta walked together towards the store selling stuffed animals. Felix and Annette walked a few steps in front, Annette pointing to various stores and decorations, making comments on how cute they looked or how they weren’t there before.

“Do you mind?” asked Bernadetta, looking at Sylvain.

“Do I mind what?” He reached over and gently held Bernadetta’s hand as they walked.

“That we’re going to a stuffed animal store first,” she stammered.

“Why would I? They’re adorable. Hey, maybe I can find you another Bernie Bear!”

“You really don’t have to Sylvain. I think one is enough.” And besides, she looked up the company on the tag once she was home and her mouth dropped as she read the prices of their custom plushies. Sure, she knew the amount of money was probably nothing for him but it still made her feel weird that he was spending so much money on her.

Annette squealed. “It’s still here!” She rushed to the window of the store and Bernadetta couldn’t stop the smile was spreading across her face as she saw the giant bear. It could be a bed for her, it was that large!

Going inside, the store was just as cute as it presented on the outside. Stuffed animals of all kinds were in small baskets and Bernadetta couldn’t help but stop at every single one to say hello.

“Look at this Bernie, the t-rex has little arms and little fangs!”

She turned to see Sylvain holding a red t-rex plushie, wiggling the tiny stubs that represented its arms with his fingers. She giggled. “It looks so grumpy too.”

“I know! It’s such a Felix expression!”

“Huh?” Felix glanced over at them. “I do not look like that.”

“You sure? The resemblance is uncanny. If only it was blue to match your hair.”

Felix grabbed a plush cat from the nearest basket and lifted it, obviously threatening to throw it at Sylvain.

“Felix no!” yelled Annette, running over and grabbing the cat from his hands. “There, there, are you okay? Did the mean Felix do something to you?”

“I wasn’t actually going to throw it,” grumbled Felix.

Sylvain laughed and looked back at Bernadetta who met his smile with one of her own. “Honestly, those two.” He carefully put the t-rex back in the basket, giving it a final pat on the head before walking over to Bernadetta and putting an arm around her shoulder. “Anything good?”

“There’s a lot of cute ones,” she admitted. “But I really don’t need to buy anymore. I have so many already.”

Once they were finished looking at the stuffed animals, Felix and Annette went into the clothing store across the way while Bernadetta and Sylvain went into the one next door, a store selling puzzles and board games. Bernadetta was surprised to see Sylvain’s face light up as he examined the different games on display, commenting on which ones he liked or never seen before. She responded with a few affirmation noises, this wasn’t something she understood but at the same time, it was obviously something Sylvain enjoyed.

“Oh wow, apparently there’s a ton of block puzzles in this one.” Sylvain read the small book on the counter as he set up the pins in the block the correct way. “Okay now, we need to figure out how to put it back together without it breaking apart.”

She had to smile as his tongue stuck out slightly of the corner of his mouth, his brow furrowed as he tried to figure out the puzzle. “No, that’s not it. Maybe this way? No, then that makes this part here not work...”

A quick glance outside the door and saw Annette and Felix were waiting for them, Felix carrying a few bags. Felix shook his head and held up his phone and Bernadetta nodded. While those two walked off, Bernadetta turned back to Sylvain and saw he was still in the midst of attempting the puzzle.

“How does this even work…”

After about another ten minutes, Sylvain sighed and put down the finished puzzle. “Finally. That one was a tricky one. Might have to get this for myself so I can play with it more later.” He blinked and then turned to Bernadetta, his neck taking on a hint of red. “Holy crap, were you just waiting for me Bernie? You should have said something.”

“It’s okay Sylvain, you looked like you were having a good time. You’re really into these block puzzles.”

“Yeah, they’re pretty cool. Oh snap, I just realized it’s kind of like Silvanus. If I remember correctly, he liked intricate puzzles and board games like this right?”

Bernadetta thought back to the story and nodded. “Oh yeah, it is. Funny coincidence.”

“I’ll say. Let me buy this and we’ll get going.” Sylvain checked his watch.

***

By the time they got back to Sylvain’s house that evening, Bernadetta felt like she was going to collapse from exhaustion. After lunch, the group had went around together to a few stores and Bernadetta didn’t realize how chaotic it would be, especially with Felix and Glenn constantly clashing with each other. It was fun though and after a dinner at one of the local restaurants, Sylvain drove Bernadetta back to his house.

“Guess we should go to bed early since you have a plane to catch tomorrow.” Sylvain rubbed the back of his neck as they stood outside of the guest room.

“Yeah, probably,” she replied. “I had fun today though. And well, college starts up again in a couple of weeks.”

“Yes it does and I’ll get to see you every day Bernie. Well, it’ll be much easier to see you at least.”

“Yeah. It will be. Uh, if it isn’t weird since your mom is home…you want to cuddle and sleep?”

Sylvain’s eyes lit up. “Of course. Let me shower and get changed and I’ll meet you in your room.”

Bernadetta nodded and she had to giggle as he walked away with a slight skip in his step. Although she did notice that he never wanted to cuddle in his room. Hang on, she had no idea what his room even looked like! Well, maybe that wasn’t a big deal, he didn’t know what her room looked like in her house either.

Despite showering earlier today, she went to shower again. 


	39. Chapter 39

Bernadetta released the arrow and smiled as it hit the center of the bullseye.

“Good. It seems like summer break has not dulled your skill,” said Shamir from behind her.

While Shamir went to check on the other students, Bernadetta lowered her bow and rolled her shoulders. She was definitely a little too stiff and out of practice. That’s what she got for spending the majority of summer break not doing anything related to archery. She was really going to need to get back into doing her exercises. Not like she regretted her summer. Besides the few hiccups with her father, it was super enjoyable.

Of course now she needed to get back into the swing of things at college. It had only been about a week since the semester started and she was already starting to feel the stress of assignments piling up.

“You’re so talented Bernie,” sighed Ashe as the two of them walked from the locker rooms to the campus. “Seriously, how do you manage to still be so good at archery after a break? I feel like I’m back at square one. Coach Shamir wants me to do extra training over the weekend.”

“I’m sorry Ashe.”

“Don’t be Bernie. Anyway, you want to get some food together?”

She shook her head. “Sorry I can’t, I have plans.”

Ashe seemed taken aback by her response but he nodded. “It’s cool, I asked you very last minute too.”

“Maybe next time though,” she said. “Although I will admit Fridays are usually pretty busy for me.”

“Got it, no worries.”

When they reached the student center, she bid farewell to Ashe and walked to the small lounge area. Everyone but Dimitri and Dedue were there, sitting in chairs around two large sushi boats.

“Finally, you’re here Bernie!” Sylvain patted the chair next to his.

“Well then, let’s eat,” said Ingrid.

“Is Dimitri and Dedue not coming?” asked Bernadetta as she put down her backpack and bow and sat in the chair offered to her.

“He’s busy with vice president duties,” said Felix.

“I really hope he is taking care of himself.” Mercedes rested a hand on her cheek. “He always looks so rundown.”

“Dedue will make sure he gets enough sleep and whatnot. And if not we’ll just kidnap him and throw him into a room until he gets enough rest,” said Sylvain.

“Maybe threaten the heir to the Blaiddyd Conglomerate louder why don’t you?” Felix rolled his eyes.

“Oh shut up Felix. Everyone here knows I’m joking.”

“I’ll visit you in jail everyday Sylvain,” promised Bernadetta.

Sylvain looked at her in mock horror. “Not you too Bernie!” He reached over and gave her a hug and pointed a finger at everyone else. “Stop corrupting her!”

Ingrid rolled her eyes. “She’s just getting tired of your BS.”

Not really sure what to do, Bernadetta patted Sylvain’s arm. “Uh, it was a joke?”

Sylvain released her and grabbed a piece of sushi and ate it. “You’re not forgiven Bernie,” he pouted.

“Well then I guess we won’t be able to watch a drama later…” Bernadetta let out the most dramatic sigh she could.

“No wait Bernie…”

She patted Sylvain’s arm as he continued to dramatically pout, the rest of the dinner passing by quickly. There was a lot of talk of future plans for group trips and whatnot. Bernadetta had to sadly pass up on them since archery season was in full swing and Ingrid had to as well as she had a few show competitions coming up and Felix had fencing tournaments. It seemed like besides a few dinners here and there, they would not be able to do anything fun together as a group until probably winter break.

Once the sushi boats were cleared, and everyone bid farewell for the night, Sylvain and Bernadetta headed back to her dorm room, hand in hand.

“So I think we can finish the current drama tonight if we pace ourselves right and don’t do anything else,” said Bernadetta.

“Holy crap, really? I can’t believe it, we’re almost done with it.” Sylvain shook his head. “Are we going to try that historical one next? It looks so good and yet so dumb at the same time. Those dramatic camera angles in the trailer.”

“I mean we could try an episode or two. Some of the costume designs are super nice though. I was thinking it would be cute to make a little outfit for Bernie Bear in that style.”

“That would be awesome. Like a warrior outfit? Warrior Bernie Bear. That’s adorable!”

“I hope it will be.” Noticing a group of people walking towards, them, she moved to the side, ready to step off the sidewalk and into the grass but Sylvain beat her to it, releasing her hand, stepping onto the grass and then taking her hand again. He shifted back onto the sidewalk after they passed by the group and Bernadetta stepped over to make room for him.

“Wait a moment. Bernadetta?”

Bernadetta turned back to the group, surprised to hear her name being called. One of them stepped of the crowd, his features delicate, his hair a light lavender. Something tickled in the back of her mind. She knew him but wasn’t sure why or how.

“It is you. You haven’t changed a bit have you? Still the same messy hair I see.”

Bernadetta squinted, trying to figure it out and then it clicked. “Wait, it can’t be. Yuri?”

“You did remember me after all.”

“What are you….you go to Garreg Mach too?”

“Yeah, been going here for the last couple of years. Didn’t know you went here as well Bernadetta.”

“Uh yeah.”

“Yuri, come on, the phase spiders aren’t going to kill themselves!” said one of his companions, a tall man who looked way too old to be hanging out with the two girls in the group and Yuri.

“Hold your horses Balthus.” Yuri rolled his eyes. “We play D&D, we’re not actually going to kill anything, don’t worry.”

“Oh. That makes sense I guess,” stammered Bernadetta.

“We should catch up later Bernadetta.” Yuri’s eyes flickered to behind her and a quick glance back, she saw Sylvain was nonchalantly watching them, his hands in his pockets. “When we both aren’t busy.”

She nodded and pulled out her phone. She paused as she was about to tell him her phone number. “You’re not mad right? About…what happened?”

“If there’s anyone I blame for that, it’s your dad, not you.” Yuri sent her a text and Bernadetta added his number into her phone. “I’ll talk to you later then.”

“Talk to you later,” she said softly.

“Finally.” The girl with red hair yawned. “I can’t wait to make all the phase spiders my pet.”

The blond girl laughed and seemed to pull a fan of nowhere and snapped it. “Not if my darling takes them out first.”

Bernadetta pocketed her phone and took Sylvain’s hand as they headed for her dorm room again.

“Who was that?” asked Sylvain. “Sounds like you know him?”

“He was a friend when I was a kid. He was the grandson of our gardener.” A lump rose in her throat as she really thought back to that time. “He was a very good friend.”

“That’s good to hear but it sounded like something happened?”

“I don’t know how the whole story but my dad ended up firing the gardener one day out of the blue.” She stared at the ground. “It was probably because I was friends with Yuri. I was super close with him and I knew my dad didn’t like it because he didn’t come from money.”

She yelped in surprise as Sylvain put his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. “Don’t you say that Bernie. Don’t blame yourself for the things your dad does.”

Bernadetta buried her face into his chest, her hands coming up to clutch the back of his shirt. “But...”

“No buts,” he said stubbornly. “Besides, it seems like Yuri didn’t blame you for it? If he did, I doubt he would have called you out.”

“True but…” She shook her head. “Right, no buts. I should just talk with him right? Get the information from him directly.”

“That’s right.” Sylvain rubbed a couple lazy circles on her back before letting her go and he looked her in the eye. “You okay now?”

She nodded. “Yeah, I’m okay. Sorry for having a mini meltdown there.”

“It’s no problem. And now it’s drama time!” Sylvain pumped his fist into the air.

Bernadetta giggled and put her own fist in the air. “Drama time!”

They were almost to her dorm building when Sylvain suddenly stopped and gasped. “Holy crap, I’m so sorry Bernie.”

“Huh?” She checked the ground around her, trying to see if he had kicked up dirt on her shoe or something.

“I kissed you Bernie. Holy crap, I’m so sorry.”

“Wait what?”

“Earlier. I kissed your hair.” He gestured to the top of her head. “Crap, I shouldn’t have done that but it felt so right in the moment. But no, I shouldn’t have done that.” He ran his fingers through his own hair, the distress seeming so out of place for Bernadetta.

“I…I don’t understand.”

He stared at her like she had grown another head. “I kissed you without your consent Bernie,” he repeated.

“You kissed my hair though?” She frowned, trying to figure out what was wrong in what he did. Hang on, did he think any form of kissing was considered sexual? That was probably it, especially since he had trouble with the idea of cuddling at first.

“Wait, is it normal to kiss hair then?”

“I…I’m not too sure but I would say so? I mean I didn’t find it weird?”

He sighed in relief. “Good. I just thought…I didn’t want it to get super weird between us.”

She shook her head. “I think you’re good. I’ll tell you if you go too far.”

“Sounds good. I’ll send a message to Ingrid too, asking her what is weird and not.”

Bernadetta was starting to feel really bad for Ingrid. It always seemed like whenever he had a question he would go to her.

“Right, enough distractions,” said Sylvain putting away his phone. “We have a drama to watch.”


	40. Chapter 40

Bernadetta woke up with Sylvain’s breath tickling the back of her neck. What time was it? Based on the light coming in through the blinds, it had to be almost noon. Due to a few delays and wanting to watch a few random internet videos, they ended up having to watch the drama later than originally planned, ending super late into the night. It was close to four in the morning so they ended up falling asleep in her bed.

She reached over and grabbed her phone from the edge of her bed, pulling it out of the charger. Oh, she had a text.

Behind her, she felt Sylvain stir and slowly sit up. “Morning Bernie,” he said with a yawn.

“Morning Sylvain.” She opened the text and was surprised to see it was from Yuri.

Sylvain carefully got up from her bed and ran his fingers through his hair as he dug through the bottom drawer of her dresser where he had a few sets of clothing along with a tooth brush. With him being over here so often, it made sense for him to keep a few things in her room so he didn’t have to worry about traveling back and forth.

“What’s up?” he asked, gesturing to her phone. “Don’t tell me the group is planning a mall hang out today.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s from Yuri. He’s inviting me to lunch to hang out and catch up.”

“Oh cool. Wait, you’re not going be late to accept that right?” He looked at the small anime clock on her bedside table. “It’s already past noon.”

“He was asking to meet at one. I think I should be able to make it if I hurry.” She bit her lip.

“What’s wrong Bernie?”

“It…it probably sounds stupid but I’m worried about seeing him. What if I say something stupid or do something stupid…what if he blames me…” She yelped as Sylvain put his arms around her and rested his head on top of hers.

“What did I tell you yesterday? Don’t blame yourself.”

“But what if it ends up really bad?” she stammered. “What if it all goes downhill and I don’t know what to say or…”

“Then text me and I’ll come running in to save you from an awkward conversation.”

“But don’t you have stuff to do today? I don’t want to bother you…”

“Just homework.” He shrugged. “It’s fine. Text me if you need help Bernie and I’ll come running.”

***

Bernadetta sat across from Yuri and poked at her fries. They met at the burger joint on campus. After ordering food, they sat across from each other and Bernadetta stared at her meal, hoping she wouldn’t say anything stupid.

“I feel like we have a lot to catch up on and I don’t know where to start.” Yuri shook his head. “What are you studying anyway?”

“English, I’m planning to be an editor,” she said softly. “You?”

Yuri shrugged. “Business. My adoptive father was very particular about me being able to take over the family name.”

“Your adoptive father?” Bernadetta’s eyes widen.

“My grandfather passed away and I was adopted into the Rowe family. They’re pretty big in trade and export goods.”

“I’m sorry from your loss,” whispered Bernadetta. She still remembered Yuri’s grandfather, he was a kind man with a gentle smile that always seemed to enjoy carrying for the plants in the gardens.

“My grandfather was getting up there in age, and he passed away peacefully in his sleep.”

“Oh.” She looked down at her meal, her stomach twisting slightly on itself. She had to say something so insensitive. What would have happened if he had still been working for Henrick? Would he had taken care of Yuri or just left him out. It was super hard to tell with Henrick.

“I’m sorry about my dad…about what happened back then…if I wasn’t friends with you…”

“It’s honestly water under the bridge Bernadetta, I don’t blame you for it at all.”

She bit her lip and nodded, remembering what Sylvain had also said. If Yuri did blame her then he wouldn’t have wanted to meet her in the first place. “Did the D&D game go well last night?”

Yuri munched on one of his fries. “I would say it did. Almost TPKed the party because they made some horrible decisions but they managed to pull through surprisingly enough.”

“That’s good.”

“Have you ever played Bernadetta?”

She shook her head. “No. I’ve watched a few shows though.”

“Maybe you can join one of our future games? Maybe not for the actual game but a one-shot? I do a lot of those as well. They’ll be easier to jump into for your first time.”

“Perhaps I can,” she stammered. Sure she had been curious to play for years but playing with Yuri sounded a bit extreme, especially since they had just met after so many years.

“No pressure though,” he said with a shrug. “If anything you can invite your boyfriend with you?”

“My boyfriend?” she stared in confusion.

“The guy from yesterday you were with?”

“Oh. Sylvain. He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Really?” Yuri seemed taken aback by her comment.

“He’s just a close friend, that’s all.” 

Was she imaging it or did Yuri look slightly relieved by that comment. “Well I have to say, you’ve definitely changed a bit since we were children. I remember it took you a while to get comfortable to talk with me.”

“Yeah, a lot has happened since then…” She ate a fry, slowly chewing on it.

“Well if you don’t mind, we can talk a little and get caught up?”

***

Sylvain put down his pen and rubbed his eyes. Damn distribution requirements, he had to take a science elective and went with astronomy, the easiest class for people that were just taking it to graduate. Of course, he somehow ended up with the worst science professor, one that actually took the subject seriously. It was only week one, why in the world did he have to write a paper on the importance of space telescopes!?

His phone vibrated and from a quick glance he saw it was a text from Bernie.

_“Just wanted to let you know the conversation went super well! We talked a lot and caught up on old times. He also invited me to join in a one-shot D &D game, and he extended the invitation to you as well.”_ A smiley face was on the end of her sentence.

He had to smile, happy that she was able to have a good conversation with an old friend. _“I don’t really know anything about D &D but if you want me to come with, I don’t mind.”_

_“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I’ll send you a few links for a couple of good shows to watch so you get an idea of what it is. He also runs one-shots in other game systems.”_

After about a minute, links began pouring into his phone. Curiously, he clicked one, and stared at the time count on it. A four hour video!?

_“I know they look long but they’re really good. I’ll probably have to explain stuff to you in person too. Maybe next weekend?”_

_“Yeah sure. We can do that. Considering we finished that drama, our hang out time is open now.”_

A thumbs up sticker. Sylvain put down the phone, happy that it went well. He was partly worried about her and was thinking of ways he could mount a rescue without making much of a scene. Well, he guessed he could have just called her and did the whole, ‘fake an emergency’ thing. Well, thankfully everything went well so he didn’t need to do that.

He checked his other text chats, just to make sure he didn’t miss anything. A message from one of his girls asking for a quickie. He ignored it, not feeling up to that right now. He had to smile at the last message from Ingrid. She had sent him an eyeroll gif to his question about appropriate places to kiss a friend.

_“As long as you two are comfortable with it then it’s fine. Seriously, just communicate with each other! You already do that anyway.”_

He was definitely going to need to get her an awesome birthday present this year for dealing with him. He set his phone back down and picked up his pen to get back to work on his assignment.


	41. Chapter 41

Bernadetta walked out of her Literature and Philosophy class, her head spinning slightly from all of the knowledge crammed into her. It was a class dedicated to looking at old texts and discuss the relationship to the goddess Sothis and Seiros. She wasn’t very religious so it meant she needed to read through the sacred texts herself and rely upon internet searches to even have some hope of getting through this class with a passing grade.

“Bernadetta.” Yuri was waiting outside the building, under a tree and he waved to her as she approached.

“Sorry, did I keep you waiting? I needed to ask my professor a few things.”

“If I didn’t care to wait I wouldn’t have,” said Yuri. “How was your class?”

“It was okay but I’m struggling with keeping track of all of the names of the Elites. My professor keeps stressing it’s important to know them all so whenever we read future texts we will know right away the significance of certain names but…” She scratched back of her head. “It’s honestly a lot to keep track of.”

“I can imagine,” said Yuri with a chuckle. “My adoptive father is pretty religious so I had to learn the names myself. Maybe I can help you out with teaching a few tricks to remember them?”

“That’ll be great,” she said cheerfully. For the past two weeks, Yuri had been meeting her after a few of her classes, walking with her to her next class and just chatting with her. Nothing too serious, just a lot of random topics here and there, them being as silly and talkative as they were in childhood. It was nice to learn he still enjoyed sweets. Bernadetta could distinctly remember him being one of the reasons she took up baking in the first place. She had plans on making him cookies at some point in the near future.

“So, you want to meet in the library tonight?”

She blinked out of her musings. “Huh?”

“Really? Am I that boring?” he sighed.

“No, not at all,” she stammered. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright Bernadetta, I was just teasing you.” He gave her a light tap with his elbow. “I asked if you wanted to meet up in the library after your archery practice to go over the elites. You’re in luck, I don’t have D&D tonight, Hapi got sick and since it’s a small party, we don’t play if we’re missing a member.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t. It’s Friday, so I have plans tonight, I’m hanging out with Sylvain,” she added quickly. She knew she didn’t have to give a reason but she always felt like she had to give an actual reason why when she couldn’t do something. “We usually spend Friday nights watching dramas or playing games and stuff.”

“Ah, that sounds like fun.”

“It is.”

“Then how about tomorrow?”

“I’m not too sure on it yet. I might end up going to bed really late and getting up at an odd time.” She rubbed the back of her neck.

“Understandable,” said Yuri with a chuckle. “Well how about this? We can set a time for Sunday and if it doesn’t work out, that’s fine too.”

“Yuri, you don’t have to do that,” she protested.

“It’s okay, I want to help you out Bernadetta, really.”

“If you say so…”

“I do.”

They stopped in front of Bernadetta’s dorm building and Yuri gave her a playful low sweeping bow. “Princess, here is your abode.”

Bernadetta giggled and responded with a curtsey. It was a game they had played as children. Yuri would be the dramatic prince, always saving the princess from dastardly plots. It was one of the things that made her dad’s training more bearable. A part of her wondered if her dad had not fired his grandfather, would her anxiety not have gotten as bad as it did?

Well, there was no point in thinking about it now. She had to get to club on time or Coach Shamir was going to make her run laps!

***

Sylvian could feel his phone going off in his pocket but there was no way he was going to be able to get to it as he was carrying a pizza box and bags hung off his arm. Snacks and drinks for drama night with Bernie!

“Bernie, help!” He kicked her door with his foot.

She opened her door and her eyes widen as she took in Sylvain’s assortment of goods. “Sylvain, it’s like you bought out the convenience store!” She took the pizza box from him and set it on her desk.

Sylvain dumped the rest of the bags on the furry rug and stretched his arms over his head. “I thought I would stock up a bit if you don’t mind? Since we’re doing this every weekend, it’ll be easier if I don’t have to bring snacks every time. If that’s okay of course,” he added quickly.

“Yeah, it’s fine.” She reached under her bed and pulled out a clear bin that was half filled with knickknacks. “We can probably put the extras in here and there’s room in my fridge for the drinks.”

“Awesome.” Sylvain pulled out a few of the extra soda bottles and stuffed it in her fridge. “How was class today?” Bernie had told him that her literary theology professor(or whatever the class was) was a difficult person to deal with. He had seen the texts for that class and based on Bernie’s stories, he was so glad he didn’t need to take it.

“Just as bad as it usually was,” said Bernie with a sigh. Her expression brightened slightly. “But Yuri said he would help me out in learning about all the Elites.”

Sylvain felt a slight twinge in his stomach. He didn’t know why it always seemed to happen when she brought up Yuri recently. At first he didn’t have any reaction, he was happy that she was happy to reconnect with her childhood friend and he listened as she recounted stories from her childhood. However as the week went by, it poked at him like a wound. 

“That’s great that he’s willing to help you out.”

She nodded with a bright smile. “It’ll help out a lot. Oh and he said he’s running a one-shot next Saturday with his friends and it’s a simple system so we could possibly…”

Her hopeful smile tugged on his heartstrings. “Yeah sure, I think I’ll be free. Are you sure Yuri is inviting me too though?” Just based on how much time Yuri seemed to be taking out of his day to spend with her, he was beginning to wonder if Yuri cared for Bernie more than just a childhood friend he was trying to catch up with.

“Of course.” Bernie tilted her head slightly. “Why wouldn’t he be?”

“Well cause he’s your childhood friend.” Sylvain shrugged. He noticed her expression fall slightly and she began playing with the edge of her sleeve. “But I can still come with anyway. Not sure if I’ll be good at this whole roleplaying thing but I can give it a shot.”

She smiled. “I’ll let him know. Anyway, I have to go to the bathroom, so I’ll be right back?”

“Yeah sure.” Sylvain grabbed the remote from its spot in front of the TV and turned it on, going into the streaming service and into their “to be watched” folder. Which drama would they start next? They were leaning towards one of the period dramas, a dramatic tale of a princess who had to ascend the throne after her father’s passing. It was a tale of politics, betrayal, and of course, love. The love options were supposedly the bodyguard that was her childhood friend and the flirtatious prince who had many secrets of his own. Based on what Bernie was able to find online about it, it was a very good series with high reviews and apparently a _lot_ of feels.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket before sitting on the plush carpet and remembered he had a missing call from earlier. He didn’t recognize the number but he saw they had left a message. He dialed his voicemail and put his phone to his ear to listen to it.

***

Bernadetta walked back into her room and saw Sylvain was on the phone.

“Yeah sure, I’ll be there tomorrow to help out. Where is the shoot going to be?”

Bernadetta awkwardly stood in the doorway, not sure if she should leave him alone to finish his phone call in peace or climb onto her bed and go on her own phone while she waited for him to finish.

He smiled and gestured for her to come over and sit next to him. “Oh, and I can bring a visitor if I want to right?” He chuckled at whatever the person on the other end said. “Thanks a lot. I’ll see you tomorrow at ten.” He hung up and looked to her. “Sorry about that Bernie.”

“Is something happening tomorrow?” She opened a bag of potato chips and ate one.

“Yeah, it was a call from one of the photographers that works for my parents. Apparently one of their models to showcase a new fashion line broke his leg so he’s unable to do it so they called me up to ask if I was free tomorrow to be an emergency replacement.”

“Wait, you’re a model!?” Bernadetta’s eyes widen. She could see it though. Sylvain was pretty tall and he had very long legs and he was conventionally attractive.

“I mean I guess? I’ve done a few shoots here and there but it’s mostly as a stand in for someone else. And it’s usually like hand modelling or showing off shoes or whatever so it’s not like my face is the focus of it anyway.” He shrugged.

“But still…that’s amazing,” she whispered. What couldn’t Sylvain do? “Oh wait, I guess that means we can’t go as late as we usually do.”

“Yeah, I need to be up for the shoot. Thankfully the studio is in town so it isn’t a far drive. Oh yeah, you free tomorrow Bernie? You want to come with?”

Her eyes widen. “Can I? I thought these shoots were exclusive and stuff…”

“Why do you think I asked if I can bring someone along? You can be my assistant and stuff.”

“Sure but I don’t know what even goes into a shoot and don’t they have professionals for that sort of thing?”

“They do but those professionals can’t give me Bernie cuddles!”

She yelped as Sylvian threw his weight on her in a tight hug, knocking her onto the carpet, him on top of her. “Okay, okay I get it!” she giggled as he nuzzled her shoulder playfully. “I’ll come.”

“Yay!” He let her go and sat up. “Although to be real for a moment, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to. I was just being a little silly there.”

She shook her head. “No, no, I’ll come. It’ll be fun. And besides I might get a few ideas for stories going to something like this. Oh, maybe something like model Chrom and photographer Robin? That could be a cute one-shot.”

“That sounds adorable. If you write it, I’ll be the first read it as you know.” He gestured to the TV. “I mean, we still have a couple hours before we should probably head to bed so I think we can get through an episode or two of this drama?”

“Let’s. I’ve been really excited to start this one.”


	42. Chapter 42

Bernadetta didn’t realize how busy a photoshoot set could be. There were people everywhere, adjusting the lights, adjusting the clothing, doing makeup and even the people working had their own assistances. She was offered a chair that gave her the perfect view of everything going on, but kept her out of the way.

From what she was able to gather, this was a photoshoot to show off a new line of clothing. It wasn’t her style in any way, very flashy, the cuts lower than she liked. Sylvain though, pulled it off perfectly, his lean frame working well to accent each piece of clothing.

The current set was Sylvain and one of the female models sitting on steps on a city backdrop. The girl was in a halter dress, a leather jacket over it, her red hair styled to the side with a windswept look to it. Sylvain sat on the step below her, leaning back in his own leather jacket, under it a white shirt and black pants. His hair was carefully spiked, giving him a punk feel. Bernadetta found it amazing that Sylvian managed to put on a not-caring, laid back look on cue for the camera.

“Let’s shift the position a bit,” said the director. He had a monitor in front of him, looking at all of the pictures as they came in. “Monica, lean over Sylvain, arms over his shoulder.”

Monica nodded and crossed her legs and leaned over Sylvain and put her arms loosely around his shoulders. Sylvain leaned back into her, one hand up to touch her elbow. A couple assistances ran forward to adjust the clothing.

After a few more directions, the photographers became clicking their cameras, Sylvain looking standoffish and aloof even though the position he was lying in seemed so painful.

The director sighed after the photos were taken and he examined them on the screen. “Alright, let’s take a twenty minute break, Get the next set ready.”

Bernadetta hoped off the chair as Sylvain walked over to her. “You were great out there Sylvain, you want me to get you something?” She gestured to the chair she was sitting on.

Sylvain collapsed in it and up close, she could see sweat dotting his brow. It was probably very hot under the lights. “I don’t need anything.” He reached for her. “A Bernie cuddle would be nice though.”

“Sylvain, you should enjoy your break, you don’t need me sitting in your lap. Let me get you some water or something.”

“Bernie cuddle!” he whined, reaching for her with grabby hands.

“Let me get you some water first okay?”

“Fine.” He crumpled in the chair, with a pout. “I’ll sit here, alone. Without any cuddles.”

She rolled her eyes and hurried over to the snack table to grab Sylvain a water bottle and a bag of pretzels. They had been rolling for at least three hours at this point with barely any breaks. Oh, maybe she could get him a bag of chips as well? She reached for one of the bags, her hand brushing against someone else reaching for a bag.

“Oh sorry,” she stammered, noticing it was one of the female models, the one that had been taking pictures with Sylvain in the last set. What was her name again? Something with an “M” right?

“It’s okay,” she said with a smile. “Go ahead.”

“Uh thanks.” Bernadetta picked up the bag of chips and added it to her pile of things.

“You’re eating a lot I see,” she said with a giggle.

“It’s not for me, it’s for Sylvain.”

She blinked. “I see.” She tilted her head slightly. “If you don’t mind me asking, what are you to Sylvain? I don’t mean anything weird by it, don’t worry, I’ve just never heard of him bringing anyone to these shoots before.”

“I’m just a friend,” Bernadetta replied quickly. “We’re really close friends, that’s all. I…I’m a writer so he thought it would be nice for me to see a scene like this to put in a book or something.”

“Hmmm, that’s very nice of him.” She looked in Sylvain’s direction thoughtfully. “Anyway, I won’t keep you.” She reached behind Bernadetta and grabbed one of the water bottles. “I want to enjoy my break too. You better get those to him soon, we’re most likely going to need to do an outfit change for the next set.”

“Oh, uh, thank you.” Bernadetta hurried back to Sylvain. He had his ankle resting on a knee, elbow on an arm of the chair, head in his hand as he looked at his phone. Seeing Bernadetta approach, he dramatically slumped in his seat. “Really Sylvain?” she said with a sigh.

“I’m Bernie cuddle-less. I can feel the end coming to me. The light, it’s getting closer…so close, I think I’m going to-holy crap, that’s cold!” He grabbed the water bottle Bernadetta had set against his cheek. “Really Bernie?” he pouted.

“Drink your water. I also got you some chips and pretzels.”

“Yes Mom,” he grumbled. He took a long sip from the bottle and opened one of the pretzel bags and stuffed a few in his mouth. “Now can I have a cuddle?”

“Will that even be okay?” she asked. “We’re… in public,” she stammered. Sure it didn’t look like anyone was looking at them in particular but there was so many people here. Sitting in Sylvain’s lap with their friends was different, they knew what Sylvain and Bernadetta were like. Here though, where no one knew who she was but they knew Sylvain? Remembering the girl from earlier, Bernadetta really didn’t want a misunderstanding happening.

He blinked at her and then rubbed the back of his neck. “Right. Didn’t think of that.” He held out a hand. “Can I at least hold your hand though?”

“Sure.” She stood next to the chair and Sylvain’s warm fingers interlaced hers. “You better eat the rest of those pretzels.”

“Yes, yes Mom, I’ll eat the pretzels. Man, you’re worse than Felix. Although you have to promise me we can cuddle tonight okay? I need double, no triple the Bernie cuddles to make up for the loss of this one.”

She giggled and nodded. “Sure, you can get all the cuddles.”

***

“And that’s a wrap.”

Sylvain, along with many of the crew sighed in relief. It had been a long day and the director was brutal in his directions. Since he didn’t model as often and it required contorting himself into positions that weren’t comfortable, he knew he was going to be sore tomorrow.

“Thanks a lot for coming in last minute Sylvain.” The director tapped Sylvain on the shoulder. “You always come through when we need you.”

“No problem, it’ll be a problem for the Gautier family if this means one of the clothing lines gets delayed.” After exchanging a few pleasantries with the staff, he headed to the back room to change. He had to hurry, Bernie was waiting for him outside. They didn’t usually spend Saturday night together but since yesterday was cut short due to the shoot today, she agreed. He was worried about it though, since the photoshoot was filled with people and energy and business and that usually exhausted Bernie but she said she was fine for them to spend the night together.

“And I owe you some cuddles right?” she added with a giggle.

Double the Bernie cuddles in one weekend, how lucky was he? He changed into his normal clothes, and rubbed makeup remover to get all of the gunk off his face. His hair was a little crusty too from the hairspray but he would deal with that when they got back on campus.

“Sylvain, wait a minute.”

He turned and saw one of the female models approach him, a slight sashay in her step, her red hair up in a ponytail. She grabbed his arm and leaned into him. “Are you going to the after party?”

“Naw, I have places to be. It might not look like it but I am a college student,” he said with a chuckle.

She giggled. “How studious of you. Perhaps we could have our own study party later?”

“Maybe tomorrow,” he replied smoothly with a chuckle of his own. “That is, if I’m invited.”

She smiled and released his arm, reaching into her tank top, right in her cleavage and pulled out a slip of paper. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

He took it from her. “Perhaps tomorrow.” While she slipped away to join the rest of the staff, Sylvain opened the paper to see if it was a number. Well then, it had been a while since his last rendezvous with a girl. That would be fun to do tomorrow.

Today, though, he had Bernie cuddles!


	43. Chapter 43

“Sorry I’m late Yuri.” Bernadetta scrambled over, her face blazing as she took the seat opposite him. A few of the students sitting at the other library desks glanced over at her annoyed. Bernadetta winced. She was never loud in the library, this was her safe haven after all.

“It’s alright,” said Yuri with a chuckle. “Everything okay though? From what I recall, you’re never one to be late for anything.”

“Oh uh, yeah,” she stammered. “I just overslept.” Well, to be honest, after getting back to campus last night after the photoshoot, Sylvain and her watched more dramas in her room. As per his insistence about her giving him more cuddles to make up for the time at the shoot, he had Bernie sit in his lap, his head resting on her shoulder as they watched the drama. Safe to say, they ended up watching way more episodes than originally planned.

Waking up the next morning and realizing it was past noon led Bernadetta to scramble to get ready. Sylvain apparently had somewhere to be as well, he was going to be spending the afternoon with one of the models from the shoot yesterday. Bernadetta had awkwardly wished him luck, still not very sure what to say in that situation.

Well either way, she had finally made it to the library to begin her tutoring session with Yuri. She took out her notebook and turned it to a new page and got out one of her pens. “Alright, I’m ready.”

Yuri chuckled. “You’re so serious about this.”

“I want to get a good grade in the class,” she protested. “And to do that I need to know the Elites well enough.”

“Alright, alright, let’s get started with Dominic.”

Yuri slowly went through all of the Elites, giving Bernadetta descriptions of each and traits to help her remember them by. Bernadetta was surprised that a few of the Elites shared last names with her friends, including Sylvain. Well, at least that meant she would never forget Elite Gautier.

“It’s said that many families descended from those lines. It is possible that your friend might actually be related to Elite Gautier himself. His is an old family right?”

Bernadetta nodded. “From what I know, yes.”

“Hmmm, then is a possibility.” Yuri smiled. “I have a feeling a few of the names are easy for you remember.”

“Uh yeah,” she stammered. She wasn’t going to forget Blaiddyd, Fraldarius or Dominic either, that was for sure. Maybe she should ask Sylvain later about it. Although he didn’t mention anything about it the few times they talked about it.

She noticed her pen rolling off the table and made a grab for it. However, her hand met empty air, the pen clattering to the floor. Dang it. She reached under the table to get it, the same time Yuri did, their fingertips bumping as they both reached for it.

“Sorry about that Bernadetta.” Yuri pulled his hand back as Bernadetta grabbed her pen and sat up. “It looked like it rolled closer to my end.”

“It’s okay,” she replied quickly. Why did it seem like she was grabbing at things that other people were too recently? “Yuri are you okay? Your face is a bit flushed.”

“Oh is it?” He chuckled. “It’s probably a little too warm in here.”

Weird. The library usually was too cold for Bernadetta, even in the winter when they had the heater running. Well, not everyone had poor circulation like she did.

“Next Saturday my group is planning on playing some other tabletop games. It would be great if you could come Bernadetta, if you aren’t busy of course.”

“I should be free,” she replied without thinking. Crap. Why did she say that? The way Yuri’s face lit up made it clear that he was very happy about it. Ugh, she could already feel her anxiety swirling in her stomach.

“Great. I’ll send the info later of what game we decide on playing and the time.”

“Sounds good,” she said weakly. “Oh, and if it isn’t a bother, I promised Sylvain he could sit in on one as well?”

“The more the merrier,” replied Yuri. “Let me know if he can come too because it will affect which games we can play with the amount of people we have.”

“Sure, I’ll let him know.”

Yuri gestured to her notebook. “Anyway, shall we go over the Saints next? You probably need to know about them as well.”

***

“Awww, do you have to go?” Monica rolled over in the bed, her hand grasping for his waist as Sylvain got up and stretched his arms over his head.

“Well I am a college student and I have class tomorrow. Unfortunately attendance counts for my grade.” He could hear her complaining and trying to entice him back into the bed but he ignored her, locating his clothes that were strewn around on the floor and putting them back on.

“I didn’t expect you to be the studios type.”

Sylvian glanced back, Monica was sitting up in her bed, making no attempt to be modest. Not like there wasn’t anything he hadn’t seen. They had spent the majority of the afternoon together and Sylvain had to admit, she was good. “Well, I’m full of surprises as you know.”

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and saw a text from Bernie. He quickly skimmed it over, apparently her meeting with Yuri had gone well and she found it cool that there was an Elite with the name Gautier. Hmmm, he never really thought about the Elite being related to him but maybe he should ask his parents if it was true or not? It would be really cool if that was the case. She also mentioned that Yuri was inviting her over next Saturday for some TRPGs and she got the okay for Sylvain to come along as well.

Normally he wouldn’t mind going with her but the fact that it was a game with Yuri…

Sylvain didn’t know why that annoyed him so much.

“Hmmm? Whose Berrito?”

Sylvain startled and put his phone close to his chest. Monica was hovering next to him and she looked up at him innocently. “Is she the girl that you brought to the set yesterday? She’s quite cute.”

Sylvain put his phone into his pocket. “One part of our agreement is to not ask questions about the other remember?”

“Right, right, I know but I’ve met her,” Monica whined, holding onto Sylvain’s arm, pressing her breasts into his side. “You’re not cheating on her are you?”

Sylvain pulled his arm out of her grasp. “We’re not together like that,” he snapped. Holy crap, why did it seem like everyone thought they were dating? Just because he was incredibly close to her, it didn’t mean they were like _that_. He didn’t even want to be like that with her, the idea of touching her in that way or kissing her still as gross and foreign as before.

“Don’t be mad Sylvain.” She hugged him from behind. “I won’t ask questions about her again. Can I see you again soon though? Next weekend perhaps?”

“Perhaps,” he replied curtly, still a little miffed by her earlier comment. After making sure he had everything in his pockets, he headed out of her apartment.


	44. Chapter 44

Sylvain could tell Bernie was nervous. She was holding onto his arm as they walked, not something so unusual but the way her fingers were digging into his arm was definitely borderline painful. “Bernie, I think my arm might fall off soon at this rate.”

“Oh, sorry!” she squeaked, releasing him.

“It’s okay Bernie, why are you so nervous though?” They were making their way across campus to the old science building where the game club had their meetings.

“Well, this will be my first time playing a roleplaying game like this so I don’t know if I’ll even be able to do a character or not…”

“I mean, you don’t have to roleplay right?” asked Sylvain. “From what I looked up about this mansion game, you can but you don’t have to?”

“True but that’s the fun part of playing things like this…” She wrung her hands together. “And if I’m going to be joining them for D&D too…”

“Oh, you’re going to do it?” Sylvain felt that twinge poke his stomach again.

“I think so. Yuri and I were bouncing ideas off each other. He thinks I could play a Life domain cleric very well.”

“I know what cleric means but I have no idea what life domain means but I’m glad you are excited about this Bernie. But wait, don’t they usually met on Fridays?”

“They do but Yuri said the group is open to moving days and they’ve even been thinking about moving to a Saturday or Sunday so this was a good excuse for them to just go ahead and do it.” She wrung her hands together. “I hope I can be a good cleric though…it’s such an important job.”

“I’ve seen you play _Awakening_ , I’m sure you can play a cleric super well,” said Sylvain. “You’re good at strategies so you’re going to be able to do all the healing and whatnot!”

“Thanks Sylvain.” She gave him a quiet smile. Her smile dropped as the old science building came into view.

Sylvain offered his hand and Bernie’s grip was tight against his. Thankfully the building didn’t look like something out of a horror movie, it was as well-kept together as everything else on campus. It apparently was used for “overflow” classes but Sylvain had not had any classes here. Huh, it was weird to think about that he only had three semesters left after this one of undergrad. He glanced down at Bernie. That meant he only had that long to be in college with her. Then she would be off in the real world, doing cool editor things while he was stuck struggling through grad school. Sure he wouldn’t be alone, his childhood friends would be with him but it wouldn’t be the same…

“Ah, there you two are.” Yuri was waiting for them just inside the doorway. He gave Sylvain a nod, who replied with his own.

“Were you waiting out here for us?” Bernie’s eyes widen.

“This building can be a bit confusing if you’ve never been here before. We play on the basement floor and the stairs are a bit difficult to find.”

Sylvain had to agree as Yuri led them down the hall and to a nondescript door that looked like all the others around it. There wasn’t even a sign that said it was the stairs down to the basement. Thankfully, the area was well lit, the stairs clean as Yuri led them down and into a short hallway.

“They don’t run classes down here anymore, so the game club took it over.” Yuri gestured to one of the classrooms that was filled with shelves upon shelves of games. “The club is almost as old as the academy so we’ve built up a collection of games. We have a lot of first editions and games that are discontinued.”

“Oh wow,” whispered Bernie, peering into the room.

“Maybe another time you can come by and I can show you.”

“I would like that,” said Bernie.

Feeling his phone go off, Sylvain pulled it out and saw a text from Monica asking if he wanted to come over because she was feeling lonely. Honestly, it had only been a week, why in the name of Seiros did she think Sylvain wanted anything to do with her anytime soon?

“Something wrong?” asked Bernie.

“Nope, sorry.” Sylvain put his phone away as Yuri led them into a comfortable room with carpeted floors and a table with chairs around it. Two girls were already sitting at the table.

“Finally, I thought we were going to die from boredom before you got here Yuri-bird.” A red haired girl with dark skin leaned over the table.

“Hapi please, can you show a little class, we have guests,” said Yuri with a sigh.

“Salutations and welcome. I Agatha Crane shall lead us to victory,” said the blond girl with a laugh.

Yuri sighed. “That’s Constance, she’s already getting into the role of her character. And the lazy one over there is Hapi.”

“I’m not lazy, I’m saving my energy.”

While Yuri sat at the head of the table, Sylvain took the spot next to Bernie. After a round of pleasantries, Yuri started setting up the game, and explaining how they were a group investigating a weird mansion. Hapi and Constance quickly got into their roles of their chosen characters bringing them to life that was surprising even to Sylvain. He tried his best as well to match their tone and even Bernie got into it, playing her quiet, shy character perfectly.

Alas, instead of succeeding to destroy the monsters, in the end the four brave adventurers were killed by an eldritch horror that was summoned in the mansion.

“Yuri-bird, you really should take it easy on us sometimes. We rarely ever win at this game,” sighed Hapi.

“It’s not my fault your rolls were low.” Yuri shrugged. “Sometimes that’s all there is.” He looked to Sylvain and Bernie. “How was it you two?”

“I have to admit, I see the appeal in it,” said Sylvain.

“It was a lot of fun,” agreed Bernie.

Yuri gave Bernie a gentle smile. “You think you would be open to joining us next week?”

Constance gasped. “Does this mean we’ll finally have a cleric?”

“Not having to make so many death saving throws is going to be so relaxing,” sighed Hapi.

Sylvain looked away, the twinge in the pit of his stomach coming back in full force again.

***

After helping them clean up the game, Bernadetta bid farewell to the game club and followed Sylvain out of the old science building. “I can’t believe it’s already six!” she said, after glancing at her phone. They had arrived at two for the game and Bernadetta couldn’t believe how much time had passed. It didn’t feel like a lot but at the same time she felt mentally exhausted like she had run a few miles in her head.

“You want to grab some pizza before we head back to our rooms?” offered Sylvain.

Bernadetta nodded. “Sounds good.” She would love to spend the evening with Sylvain but she had a paper that was due on Monday so she needed to work on it. Although she wondered how she could work on it with her brain half mush right now.

As they walked, hand in hand, Sylvain pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Forgot I put it on silent-hang on, I have a voicemail?” He quickly dialed and put his phone to his ear to listen to it. Once he was done, he put down his phone with a long sigh.

“Anything wrong?”

“Not wrong persay, it was the director of the photoshoot from last week. Apparently the high ups loved the idea of having me model a few pieces and want to create a whole fashion line with my name on it.”

Bernadetta’s eyes widen. “That’s amazing Sylvain.”

“I guess but it’s more annoying on me end.”

“Really? I think it would be cool to design clothes.”

“Well I’m not designing anything, they’re doing all the work and then saying I sponsored it or whatever. This kind of stuff happens all the time.”

Bernadetta didn’t really get it but Sylvain was from a wealthier family than her. “Do you have to do then? Can’t you say no?” 

“Sadly no, my parents gave the approval already so it’s pretty much a done deal.” He scratched the back of his head. “Honestly, they expect me to do school on top of stuff like this? I’ll probably be spending my weekends doing shoots and interviews and stuff.”

“Oh.” She felt her stomach drop, knowing this probably meant she wouldn’t be able to see him every weekend like she had in the past. Damn it, that was selfish of her. He was doing stuff for his future and she…wasn’t.

“Well, thankfully it’s for a winter line so it should all be wrapped up in a few weeks if anything but…” He sighed. “Man, it’s going to be forever until we finish that drama.”

Bernadetta forced herself to smile. “That’s okay though. We can continue it after you’re done.” And hopefully he’ll be done with all this before finals. “Anyway, let’s go get some pizza?”


	45. Chapter 45

“You saved our bacon out there!” Balthus gave Bernadetta a hard slap on the back and she almost fell over from the force.

“Balthus, really,” said Yuri with a frown. He stepped over to Bernadetta and put a gentle hand on her back. “Are you okay?”

“Fine, just wasn’t expecting that.”

“Not having to stress so much about healing anymore is sure nice,” said Constance with a sigh. “I can finally do my calling.”

“You legit just cast fireball whenever you can.” Hapi rolled her eyes.

“Well I can rage kill everything now so that’s awesome!” said Balthus, showing off his muscle.

“I’m sorry we’re a loud bunch.” Yuri shook his head.

“It’s okay,” replied Bernadetta with a smile. “It reminds me of my other group of friends.” Although Felix, Ingrid, Dimitri and Sylvain were not as loud as them, they bantered in their own way.

“I was hoping they would contain themselves so they wouldn’t scare you away but I guess not.” Yuri sighed. “Are you sure you want to have dinner with us?”

“I’m sure.” Bernadetta didn’t want to admit it but yesterday was the first Friday in the semester that Sylvain wasn’t hanging out with her. Having to sit in her room by herself on a Friday night felt weird and lonely and a part of her really wanted to text him but she pushed the urge away. His weekend was packed with things to do and she didn’t want to bother him.

But perhaps it was that loneliness that made her say okay when Yuri offered her to join them for dinner after the D&D game.

“I so can’t wait to rage eat all the pizzas!” yelled Balthus.

Yuri sighed. “Balthus come on now.”

Bernadetta couldn’t help but giggle. This didn’t look like it would be too bad. She paused and looked behind her, feeling a slight prickling on the back of her neck. Why did it feel like someone was watching her? Students were milling around, some hanging around outside before the weather got too cold while others were going somewhere. There didn’t seem to be anyone paying attention to her in particular.

Oh wait, maybe they were paying attention to Balthus? He was being super loud and noisy. That’s right, that was probably it. Her anxiety was probably making her think someone was staring at her.

“Bernadetta? Everything alright?”

She shook her head and hurried quickly after Yuri. “Sorry, let’s go get some food.”

***

Sylvain sighed as he got into his car and rested his head against the steering wheel. He was still a goddamn college student, he did not sign up to sit in meetings and listen to people drone on yet. Wasn’t that supposed to be his life after he was out of school? The meetings today were also stuff that could have been covered in emails.

The company was already coming out with a new fashion line and the plan was to just slap Sylvain’s name on it, marketing it as the “son of the CEO endorses this” or whatever. They also went over the “buzzwords” and the taglines for the fashion line, stuff that Sylvian would need to say in the interviews to make it seem like he had some sort of say in the process.

What he was not looking forward to was how busy his next couple of weekends would be. Next weekend was an on location shoot out in the mountains, meaning he was going to have to leave Friday night and be there until late Saturday and probably have to stay overnight until Sunday depending on how late the shoot went. And then after that, his next couple weekends were going to be filled with interviews and meetings. With how packed his weekend schedule was, any free time on the weekdays were going to be filled with making sure all of his assignments were done. There was no time to think of anything else besides work and he hated it.

He made a mental note later to call his dad and explain this was the last time he was going to do any of this until he graduated but he doubt it would do much. The Gautier “brand” was important and his father would probably go into a lecture of how Sylvain needed to build up his own reputation so he wouldn’t be riding his father’s coattails. Not like Sylvain wanted to in the first place.

Sighing, he took out his phone and was about to turn on the GPS when he saw a message from Bernie.

_“I hope everything went well in your meeting today. Also, look at this statue I found behind the old science building!”_

Sylvain had to chuckle at the picture. The statue was a fish swimming up a double helix. Bernie had put her hand out and positioned the camera in a way so it looked like she was petting the fish.

_“Boring but manageable. How did your first D &D session go?”_

_“Super well! I ended up saving the other party members from a guardian naga. It was a surprising way to introduce my character but it worked! And I was nervous at first but it went well. ^_^ I’m sorry if I don’t respond quickly Sylvain, I’m having dinner with them right now. We got pizza.”_

Dinner with them? _“Them? Like Felix and Ingrid?”_

_“No, with Yuri and the other players.”_

Sylvain put down his phone. Oh. Well, he should have expected it right? It was dinner time after all and it made sense for her to eat with them. Then at least she wasn’t eating alone. She had been spending so much time with Yuri recently though. He shook his head, what in the world was he thinking? Of course she would spend time with him, they probably had so much catching up to do and she obviously enjoyed his company. It made sense for her to eat with them today.

He was overthinking this way too much. That had to be it, right?


	46. Chapter 46

Sylvain grabbed his jacket and threw it on. Despite being a heater, even he had to admit it was way too cold up here to just be running around in a tank top. Ugh, why did the photoshoot need to be out in the middle of the mountains? Couldn’t they just do it in a studio and just photoshop everything? Wasn’t that what technology was for nowadays?

Well, at least the view was nice. He snapped a picture of the rolling hills and greenery to send to Bernie later. Signal was spotty up here and he wasn’t sure if it would go through. Oh wait, didn’t she have an archery competition today? He hoped it was going well and he was bummed he couldn’t be there to cheer her on.

Oh wait. He zoomed in on his camera as he caught a hawk flying over a few trees. He quickly set his phone to video mode and recorded the hawk flying around. That was super cool. Definitely something to show Bernie later. Hang on, was it circling over something?

“What’re you doing Sylvain?”

He startled and looked down at Monica. Like him, she was also in a coat to help control the shivers while the staff were preparing for the next set of photos. He was surprised that she was chosen to represent the woman’s line but apparently she was a pretty popular female model so he guessed he made sense from a business standpoint. Also probably had something to do with the artistic value of having models with red hair.

She giggled, the sound so fake to Sylvain’s ears. Obviously a girl trying to appear cute rather than being cute herself. Bernie never fake giggled, although she did sometimes nervous giggle and Sylvain felt like he had gotten good at discerning the two.

“You’re sending a video to that friend of yours right? Berrito?”

“Perhaps.” Sylvain put his phone away.

“Awwww, don’t get mad.” She leaned into him, her fingers trailing up and down his arm and she purred softly. “After this, you want to have some fun together? It’s pretty cold up here so…”

He sighed. Honestly, this girl was way too clingy. “No, I’ll be heading back after we’re done today.”

She frowned. “But Sylvie…”

Oh great, she gave him a nickname. Already a bad sign. He extracted her arms from him and stepped away. “No, we’re done,” he said curtly. Sure the sex was good but attachments? No way.

“It’s because of that girl isn’t it?” she pouted.

“That girl?” he repeated, looking at her like she had grown another head. Wait, was Monica referring to Bernie? He had to scoff at the idea. Bernie had nothing to do with it. She was miles different than Monica, she was a safe, comforting person to be around that actually cared for him as a person unlike girls like Monica. 

“We’re almost ready you two!” called one of the staff members.

Sylvain unzipped his coat and shivered as the cold air hit his bare skin. Ugh, he really did not like on location shoots.

Monica turned away and for a moment he thought her expression shift into a cold smile but when he blinked it was gone and she had the same easy-going, carefree expression on her.

***

Bernadetta sighed as she stepped out the locker room. The archery competition had gone well, Garreg Mach taking first place again. Coach Shamir was incredibly proud of all of them, especially Claude and Bernadetta who were the decisive factors to the victory. Having everyone give her congratulations and pats on the back and high fives was exhausting. Thankfully it was over and she could finally head back to her dorm room and get some sleep. The adrenaline from the match was wearing off and exhaustion was kicking in. A bunch of the club members were going to have a celebratory dinner but Bernadetta refused. She was way too tired mentally to even think about suffering through it.

Which was kind of funny to think about. In the past, she would go to it and sit in the corner, trying to not snap at people because she was so tired. Thankfully her quiet nature meant most people took it as her being shy and not that she was sensory and emotionally overwhelmed.

Perhaps she was getting better at standing up for herself.

“Bernadetta!”

She looked up in surprise to see Yuri waving at her from under a tree. “What are you doing here?” She hurried over to him.

“Well I was at the match.”

Bernadetta’s eyes widen. “You were there?”

“Yeah, I know I should have told you ahead of time but I wanted it to be a surprise. I have to admit, I’m surprised how focused you are able to get. It’s like you are a whole different person.”

“Uh yeah,” she stammered. “When I’m in the zone I kind of space out to everything around me.”

Yuri nodded along. “I understand that feeling. Sometimes when I really get into one of the roles of the characters I play in the D&D game, everything falls away and I focus just on that.”

“I hope I can be like that with my character soon. I feel like I’m not doing a good job roleplaying her.”

“You’re doing fine Bernadetta. You’ll get it before long. I know it’s very awkward at first but you’re slowly slipping into the role. You were smart going with a character that has a similar voice to your own so you don’t have to worry about doing an accent every time.”

That was true. Balthus’s character had a posh accent whenever he was talking normally but when he went into a rage, he turned into a murder monster who just screamed. It impressed Bernadetta how into his role he got although Yuri had to remind him to not scream so loud because they’ve had public safety called on them before because his screams sounded too real.

She put her fingers up to her face and blew on them. It was only fall but the air was getting colder way too fast. They might have an early winter this year at this rate.

“Oh yes, if I remember correctly, you’ve always had poor circulation.” Yuri held out his hands. “Remember what we did as kids?”

“Oh the sandwich thing?” She laced her fingers together and held them in front of her. Yuri put his hands on top of hers, one on top and one on the bottom and began rubbing her fingers to warm them up.

“You really should make sure to bring gloves with you, your fingers are ice cold!”

“Well usually Sylvain would hold my hand or let me share his coat pocket if I didn’t have gloves.” He would even make sure to alternate, once her left hand was warmed up, he would go to her other side and let her put her right hand in his pocket. It probably looked funny from the outside, now that she thought about it. Since he was so warm, usually her fingers would thaw out in no time.

“I’m not surprised, he seems to look out for you a lot.”

“Uh yeah.”

Yuri looked at their hands thoughtfully before releasing her. “Here, I’ll carry your stuff for you, you look pretty tired.”

“No, it’s okay,” said Bernadetta quickly, as he tried to reach for the bag she had over a shoulder. “It’s my bow and my responsibility.”

Yuri pulled his hand back. “Sorry, I should have realized that Bernadetta.”

“Uh, you can call me Bernie if you want. That’s…what I usually go by.”

Yuri blinked. “Are you sure?”

“My friends all call me that. It’s probably easier to say than Bernadetta.”

“Bernie,” he repeated slowly. “Bernie.”

“I mean you can call my Bernadetta if it’s too weird for you,” she said quickly.

Yuri shook his head and gave her a gentle smile. “No, I’ll call you Bernie. Anyway, you probably want to get back to your dorm to rest for the night. I’ll walk you back.”

As they headed towards the dorms, Yuri began telling her about the some of the adventures the other party members had gotten into before Bernadetta’s character joined them.

“I can’t believe Balthus’s character always seems to throw himself into trouble. Wait…I can believe it.” Bernadetta shook her head.

"Although now I worry about now that he has a cleric around, it will make him more reckless.” Yuri shook his head. “Well, that’s one of the fun parts of the game.”

“That makes sense.” She rubbed her hands together as her dorm building came into view.

“Here, one final sandwich before I go.”

Bernadetta laced her fingers together as Yuri put his on top of hers, the warmth seeping from him into her.

“And there you go, that should keep you warm until you get inside.”

“Thanks a lot Yuri.” She noticed he was looking at something behind Bernadetta. Turning she gasped as she noticed the boy standing outside her dorm building. “Sylvain? You’re back early!” She gave him a wave before looking to Yuri. “D&D tomorrow at noon right?”

“Yup. We’re going to order pizza so don’t worry about food.”

“Okay. I’ll see you then Yuri.”

“Bye Bernie.”

Bernadetta hurried over to Sylvain. “What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t getting back until tomorrow.”

“Oh, it ended up raining so the rest of the shoot was cancelled. They’re planning on just doing a studio shoot for the rest of it tomorrow but that’s in town so…” Sylvain trailed off and seemed to be watching Yuri walk away. “He walked you back from the match?”

She adjusted the weight of her bag on her shoulder. “Huh? Yeah. It surprised me too, I didn’t know he was coming.”

“I wish I could have been there, but by the time I got back it was over.”

“That’s okay, I know you are super busy Sylvain.” She tilted her head slightly, noticing he was staring at her hands. “Oh, don’t worry my hands are doing okay right now, Yuri got them all warmed up. They’ll be fine until we get inside.”

“Uh right, we should get inside.” He opened the door for her.

Bernadetta stepped into the lobby, happy to be out of the cold air.

As they waited in front of the elevator, Sylvain rested his hand on the back of his neck as he stared at the metal doors. “So, what was he doing anyway? He was holding your hands in a weird way?”

“Oh, you saw the sandwich thing?”

“Sandwich thing?”

“It’s something Yuri did when he worked for my family. I always had poor circulation and he would do that to help warm them up.”

“He did huh?”

Bernadetta frowned. Why did Sylvain sound so distant?

The elevator dinged and opened and they got on. Sylvian was closest to the buttons and he stared at them for a few seconds before clicking the one to her floor. He rubbed his eyes and yawned.

Ack, he was probably exhausted! If she remembered correctly he had to get up early to go to the photoshoot and he had driven back early too. He was probably tired and she was over here thinking there was a possibility of her doing something wrong.

The door opened on her floor and they stepped out. “Sylvain, you didn’t have to come see me, you could have gone back to your room as soon as you got back.”

He froze and looked at her in shock. “You didn’t want me to come see you?”

She shook her head. “No, nothing like that. I meant that you look pretty tired so instead of seeing me, you could have gone back to your room and rest.”

“Oh, that’s what it was.”

Was she imagining it or did he look a little relieved?

“Sorry, I guess I am a bit tired. But how can I sleep without my Bernie Bear near me?” He stood behind her and draped his long arms around her and rested his head on top of hers.

Bernadetta had to roll her eyes as she unlocked the door to her room.

***

What in the world was wrong with him? 

Maybe he was really tired.

Sylvain followed Bernie into her room, kicking off his shoes before stepping on her furry rug. She put away her equipment for archery and grabbed a change of clothes from a drawer. Sylvain sat down on the rug with his back to her so she could get changed with some privacy. They were comfortable with each other but not _that_ comfortable yet.

“So uh, what do you want to do for dinner? I was going to just eat one of my instant meals.”

“Bernie, you know those aren’t good for you.”

“It’s just once in a while and I don’t feel like going to the student center to get food.”

Sylvian took out his phone. “Let’s just order some delivery then. What are you in the mood for? Oh, that new wings place is on here. You want to get something from there?”

“Sure.” Bernie sat down next to him and peered over his shoulder as she looked at the menu. “Nothing too spicy though.”

“Gotcha.” Without thinking, he put an arm around her shoulder and Bernie half leaned into him as they looked at the menu and picked out a few different types of wings, and drinks. “Guess we’ll have to survive twenty minutes until food gets here,” he said after placing the order. He eyed the snack bin under her bed. “You think we should snack a bit?”

“Sylvain, if we do then we’ll ruin our dinner.”

“Fine,” he said with a roll of his eyes.

“You want to watch a part of the drama while we wait? Since we don’t get to do it anymore on Fridays…”

“Oh yeah, let’s. We have to see what our princess friend gets into.”

Bernadetta got up and grabbed the remote. She went to sit back down next to him, but Sylvain gently pulled her in front of him so her back was against his chest and he could put his legs on either side of her.

“Can you even see? Here, let me scoot down a bit.” She shifted a bit so her head was resting on his clavicle. “Is that okay?”

“I’m fine. I can see.” He put his hands over hers, interlacing their fingers together.

“What are you doing?” she asked with a giggle. “This is not a comfortable position to hold hands like that.”

“No but I just wanted to. Come on Bernie, it’s been almost over a week since I got my Bernie cuddles. Let me have this.”

Alas, they could not stay cuddled like that for very long as one of them needed to go downstairs to grab the food delivery. Despite Sylvain insisting, Bernie stubbornly said she would do it, citing the fact he had to drive up and down a mountain today as reason why he should stay put in her room.

As the door shut, Sylvain leaned back and rested his head against the frame of her bed. “What in the world is wrong with me?” he whispered, looking up at her ceiling.

Why did he react that way when Bernie asked him why he didn’t just go back to his room? It was a normal thing for her to say, especially since he was tired. But why did it bother him the way it did? Why did it make him think of Yuri holding Bernie’s hands like that with that stupid smile on his face? Why did he want to hold Bernie’s hands, to remind her how warm he was?

Did he have to see his therapist again? He was doing good and hadn’t gone at all since the semester began but maybe he needed to go back? At least to help him figure out what was wrong with him.

Or maybe he was just tired? It was a long day and Monica had been super annoying during the second half. She kept trying to cling to him and when the shoot got cancelled, she insisted on him going back to her room. Yeah right he was going to do that. Clingy girls were not his thing at all. Maybe he was just projecting that annoyance onto Yuri and Bernie? That had to be it. 

He broke out of his thoughts as Bernie opened her door, the bag full of delicious wings in hand. “Got them!”

Sylvain smiled. “Great. We can eat while we watch. Although…” he looked at her pretty shag rag. “The risk of getting stuff on it.”

“Already ahead of you.” She pulled a few towels out of a drawer and laid them on the floor.

Sylvain put the bag of wings on it and clicked play on the drama. He could feel a yawn coming on but he fought it back. Sure he might have another shoot tomorrow, but for now all he wanted to do was eat delicious wings and watch dramas with his best friend.


	47. Chapter 47

Bernadetta stepped out of her Poems Through the Ages class with dread pooling in her stomach. Next week was a huge test based on interpreting various old poems. Sure she was okay at it, but that was when she was able to take her sweet time and able to look up anything she didn’t understand. Doing it under a time crunch and having to do multiple in an hour and a half was exhausting to just think about.

“Hey Bernie!” Annette hurried over and she hunched over, hands on her knees. “Oh man, I think I need to work out a bit more.”

“Are you okay?” Bernadetta looked at her in concern.

“Yeah, fine, fine, give me a moment.” Annette took a deep breath and straightened. “I was coming out of my Short Stories class when I spotted you here. I kind of had to dash across the hall to get to you.”

Bernadetta was impressed Annette could even do that. Since class had just got out, there were students everywhere. Plus her spotting Bernadetta in the first place in the crowd. “I’m surprised we haven’t run into each other before.”

“I know! I mean, we’ve been in class for almost a month and I didn’t know you were right there. We should walk together then.”

Bernadetta nodded. “Sounds good to me.” They slowly melded into the crowd heading for the stairs down to the first floor. There was an elevator in the Literacy building but no one used it unless they had to.

“So I forgot to ask you but you think you could make me a wolf plushie that looks kind of like Felix?”

“Kind of like Felix?”

“Yeah! Oh wait, maybe a cat would be better.” Annette pouted for a second. “Yeah I think a cat fits him more. A cat that’s Felix-like. I want to give it to him as a birthday present. Although I do know you are working on that thing for Glenn right?”

“I’m almost done with it so I could make a cat for you Annette. Although I’m not too good on designing stuff. If someone made a design I could work off that.”

“Hmmm, let me think, I’m sure I can find someone to make a design.”

The crowd was finally thinning as they made it to the stairs. Bernadetta sighed as she stepped down onto the first step. She hated walking on crowded stairs, it was nerve wracking having to wait for the person in front of her to move and she was worried about the people behind her thinking she was taking too long.

Something thumped hard against her back.

It took her a second to realize she was falling forward, the floor rushing up to meet her. In the split second she had, she glanced back and thought she saw a glimpse of red hair as she slammed into the ground at the bottom of the stairs.

***

Sylvain groaned and leaned back in his seat. Since his weekends were now stuffed to the brim with things to do, he had to do all of his homework on the weekdays, in between his classes. This paper for macroeconomics was going to be the death of him. Maybe he should take a break? No, he took one ten minutes ago, if he didn’t get at least two pages out in this sitting then his whole schedule for assignments was going to be thrown off.

He jumped as someone banged on his door.

“Sylvain! You’re in there right?”

Sylvain opened the door. “Felix, what in the world is going on?” He frowned noticing how frazzled his friend looked.

Felix peeked into Sylvain’s room. “You had your phone on silent didn’t you?”

“Uh yeah, I was working on stuff and I didn’t want to be distracted. What’s going on? Don’t tell me Dimitri tried to gift _another_ girl with a knife.”

Whatever it was had to be serious as Felix didn’t even bat an eye. “Bernie fell down a flight of stairs and needed to be taken to the hospital.”

Sylvain stared at Felix, the words not registering. “What?”

“Annette saw the whole thing. Bernie had to be taken to the hospital because she fell down a flight of stairs in the Literacy Building-Sylvain! Get back here!”

Sylvain didn’t realize he was halfway to the elevator until Felix called out to him. “Felix, I have to go…”

“I know you do, but take your phone and keys. Unless you want to run to the hospital on foot.”

Sylvain winced. Right, that would help wouldn’t it? Felix had Sylvain’s door propped open with a foot and Sylvain ran back inside and grabbed his things.

Thankfully the hospital was only down the street and he was able to find a parking spot relatively close to the entrance. As he hurried into the building he paused, realizing that he had no idea where to go or what to do. If she had just arrived, she might still be in the ER. Would they even let him see her? Privacy was important in the hospital after all.

“Sylvain?”

He looked up in surprise to see Byleth approach. What was she doing here? Out of everything, he was not expecting to run into the former TA of his history class here.

“Is something wrong? You look frazzled.” She gave him a once over in concern.

“It…well, I guess I’m not sure what I can do.” He knew many felt comfortable around Byleth. Heck, even Felix admitted the one time he went to her office hours, she genuinely seemed to be kind and caring towards her students. Maybe that was why, even though she was longer his TA, he said, “Bernie was taken to the hospital. She fell down a flight of stairs.”

Understanding dawned in Byleth’s expression. “I see. Go sit in one of the those chairs, I’ll see what I can find out.”

“Wait, how? You’d do that?”

Byleth gave him a secretive smile. “I have my ways. Plus I know how important she is to you.”

Wait, what. How in the world did Byleth know that? He had never shared a class with Bernie. Did Byleth see them together on campus or something? However he couldn’t ask as Byleth went to talk to the person behind the front desk so Sylvain walked over to the waiting room chairs and sat down.

He tapped his fingers on his knees and fidgeted in place. Whenever anyone came in or out of the doors that led deeper into the hospital, Sylvain would look up, disappointment and worry would seep into him every time. He went on his phone but was barely able to read the texts in the group chat. He did register Annette mentioning that Bernie had to be taken to the hospital but he couldn’t pay attention enough to read the rest of it.

He tried to pick up a magazine from the rack and read it but the words wouldn’t register. Damn it, damn it, damn it.

“Sylvain.” Byleth gently touched his shoulder.

Sylvain jerked back in surprise before he registered who was touching him. “Byleth. How…is she…”

“Sorry it took me a bit of time. They’re big on privacy here but I was able to find that she is okay. No lasting injuries.”

“Oh thank Seiros.” Sylvain buried his face in his hands, the tension leaving his body immediately.

“They’re still running a few tests to make sure everything is okay but most likely she’ll be able to go home tonight.”

“Do you know where she will be leaving from? I’ll take her back to the dorms.”

“The other exit.” Byleth pointed in the direction and relayed off a few instructions. “I’ll let her know so they won’t need to call a cab for her.”

“Thank you.” He rested his hand on the back of his neck. “And uh, sorry for hitting on you when you were my TA. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“I know you didn’t.”

Again with that knowing smile. Sylvain chuckled. “If I had to guess, I feel like you know something I don’t.”

“Perhaps,” she said lightly.

Odd. Maybe Sylvain should have got to know her better when she was his TA. Well that didn’t matter now. He hurried over to where Byleth told him Bernie was going to be. The halls of the hospital were surprisingly colorful, the place giving off a friendly happy vibe rather than something dark and dreary. Rumor had it that President Rhea, who ran Garreg Mach Academy, also was the head of the hospital and a family member of hers regularly had hospital visits. This led to the hospital having an overall joyous vibe rather than something dreary.

Either way, Sylvain reached the other waiting room and sat down in an empty seat away from everyone else.

Three hours past and he saw people come and go. Surprisingly no one asked him what he was doing there but maybe Byleth took care of that? What kind of TA had the power to find out about a patient at a hospital anyway?

Since he was waiting, he checked the group chat, giving everyone an update on how Bernie was doing according to Byleth and that he was waiting for her to come out.

_“That’s good to hear,”_ wrote back Annette. _“She wasn’t moving when she fell. I was so scared it was worse.”_

Sylvain gulped. Just thinking of Bernie lying there, unmoving at the bottom of a staircase sent his head into a tailspin. He kept having to remind himself that she was fine.

Although that’s what Byleth said. What if Byleth got it wrong? What if she was gravely hurt. What if-

“Sylvain?”

Sylvain jumped to his feet as a nurse pushed a wheelchair bound Bernie in his direction. She was awake and alert, no bandages or casts on her. He rushed to her side, kneeling in front of her.

“Sylvain, what are you doing here? The doctor told me you were here and-”

He gently put his hands on either side of her face and leaned in, pressing his forehead against hers. “Thank Seiros you’re okay Bernie.” He pulled back and examined her face. She looked haggard and tired but other than that, she seemed okay.

“A few scrapes and bumps but she was lucky,” said the nurse.

Sylvain realized how this probably looked from her angle. He cleared his throat and stood. He didn’t care much about what people thought about him but he knew Bernie was particular about it, especially physical displays of affection in public. “That’s good to hear.”

“Remember to take the pain meds if it starts hurting,” said the nurse.

Bernie nodded. “I will, thank you.”

“And if that bump on the back of your head gets bigger or you start getting a bad headache come back right away.”

Bernie got up from the wheelchair and Sylvain quickly leant his arm for her to lean on. “My car is in the visitor’s lot. You want me to bring it out front for you?”

“No, I’m fine. I can walk.” She waved to the nurse. “Thank you so much.”

As they headed back through the hall Sylvain asked, “What did they mean by a bump?”

“Oh, I hit my head when I fell down the stairs.” She gestured to the back of her head.

Sylvain reached over and gently touched the back of her head, quickly finding the spot in question. He winced and pulled his hand back. “That’s…a pretty big bump.”

“Yeah but I have a hard head remember?”

“They told you to come back if you have a headache?”

Bernie nodded. “They gave me an MRI to make sure I didn’t have any bleeding in the brain. I’m just very bruised mostly.” She gestured to her left side. “They said I was lucky since I managed to turn my body enough that I didn’t land wrong and break anything. It’s just really bruised on that side.”

“Is there anything they can do?”

Bernie shook her head. “Besides taking pain medication, it’s just rest and recovery at this point.”

“You’re not going to class tomorrow right?”

She sighed. “Probably not. I’ll have to email them tonight and let them know. My perfect attendance….”

“Bernie, really.” Sylvain frowned at her.

“It was a joke Sylvain.”

“Oh.” He looked away. Right, of course, a joke.

“You’re walking too fast.”

“Sorry.” Damn it, that threw him off too much and he forced himself to slow to match Bernie’s slower pace. They were finally out of the hospital and Sylvain gestured to where his car was. “We’re almost there Bernie. You’re not too tired?”

“I can make it.”

Once he made sure Bernie was situated in the passenger side, he walked around and got into the driver’s seat. He turned the car on and was about to put the car in reverse when Bernie reached over and gently rested her hand on his cheek.

He lifted his hand off the gear shift and put his hand over hers.

“I’m okay Sylvain. It was an accident,” she said softly.

“But just the thought of you…” He couldn’t say it. Even thinking it sent his mind to a place it didn’t want to go. “Did you slip?”

“I think so…” She frowned and seemed to be deep in thought.

“Bernie?”

She shook her head. “Sorry, it…it was just a thought, my head feels a bit muddled from everything, I think I’m a bit tired.”

“Right…yeah, that makes sense. Sorry for bringing up such things when you just got out of the hospital.”

“It’s okay. I know you’re worried about me.” She removed her hand from his cheek and set it in her lap. “Are you going to be okay though? I know you’re busy with assignments and you’re driving me home.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” He just needed to get up early tomorrow and finish it. “In case you forgot, I am a genius after all.”

She giggled. “Of course you are.”

Sylvain cleared his throat. “Right, let’s get you back to your room so you can sleep.”


	48. Chapter 48

“Special delivery!”

Bernadetta winced as she got up from her bed, her left side aching as she hobbled to her door and opened it. Ingrid held up a bag of food with a bright smile.

“You guys really don’t need to bring me food.” Bernadetta stepped to the side so Ingrid could drop the food off on her desk. Every day for the past week, her friends took turns bringing her food. Sylvain would do it more often than not, but the others were here regularly as well. Annette gushed over Bernadetta’s collection of stuffed animals while Felix shoved the bag of food in Bernadetta’s hand and walked away. Dedue was surprisingly in-depth with it, bringing her way more than she needed and making sure it was incredibly balanced. He also cooked it himself and she really hoped she could eat his food even when she wasn’t on bed rest.

“It’s fine, that’s what friends do. Besides, you don’t look like you’re in any condition to be walking all the way to the student center and we both know if you wanted to, Sylvain would carry you all the way there and back.”

“No he wouldn’t,” she scoffed.

Ingrid gave her a deadpan look.

“Okay, maybe he would,” she relented.

“I think if he didn’t have that meeting in the city to go to today, he would be waiting on you hand and foot.” Ingrid took out her phone and showed a bunch of text messages from Sylvain. All of them had the them were reminders for Ingrid to bring Bernadetta lunch today because he wasn’t able to. “He’s way too much of a worrier.”

Bernadetta sighed. “I really wish he would get that I’m fine though, just a little bruised. I’m feeling a lot better now that I’ve had a few days to recover.”

“That’s good.” Ingrid began unpacking the food and spreading them out on Bernadetta’s desk. “Although I have to admit, I’m surprised you were the one that ended up slipping and falling down the stairs. I feel like that’s something Annette would do.”

“Yeah…” She thought back to the incident. Bernadetta had went over it over and over again in her head.

“What’s wrong Bernie?” Ingrid turned to her with a concerned frown. “Do you need to take your pain meds?”

She shook her head. “No, nothing like that. It’s…it’s going to sound really stupid but I don’t think I slipped on the stairs.”

“What do you mean?”

Bernadetta wrapped her arms around herself. Was she just making excuses for her clumsiness? But the timing of it felt right. “I think someone pushed me? I felt a hard thump against my back before I fell forward.”

Ingrid’s brow furrowed. “Are you sure?”

“I know it’s stupid and I’m making excuses but…”

Ingrid shook her head and leaned against Bernadetta’s desk. “No, I meant I believe you, sorry it must have come out wrong. You think it was on purpose then?”

“I don’t know. I mean I thought I saw someone with red hair walking away when I was falling down the stairs but I’m not sure…”

Ingrid tapped her fingers on Bernadetta’s desk. “It could be an accident since it was so crowded but if you felt a hard thump and someone running away…”

“Or I could be imagining it…”

“You’re not the type to imagine stuff like this. But what could that mean though…” Ingrid bit her lip. “Does Sylvain know?”

“No, I was thinking about mentioning it to him when he picked me up from the hospital but he seemed so worried for me that I didn’t want to bring it up and it’s never felt like a good time after that. He’s already super busy and for him to worry about me on top of everything else…”

Ingrid nodded. “I get that. Hmmm, I wonder if…yeah, I’ll ask him.”

“Ingrid?”

“I’ll look into it a bit. Having connections is useful in times like this.” She winked.

“Should I tell Sylvain?”

“If you want to. Although knowing him, he’ll get super worried over you so it might be better to keep quiet for now.”

“Yeah,” agreed Bernadetta. “Thanks Ingrid.”

“No problem. You’re a friend and we have to look out for each other.”

***

Sylvain knocked on Bernie’s door. “Dinner delivery service is here.”

He heard her shift and then open the door. Her face twitched as she took in his appearance. “I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen you in a suit.”

Sylvain looked down at the suit in question. “What? Does it look weird?” He went with his usual sleek look when he had to get dressed up. Oh, maybe because he had loosened his tie? It did make him look not as well put together.

She shook her head. “No, it’s just different, that’s all.” Her expression shifted to concern. “Did you come here straight from your meeting though?”

He waved her concern away. “I’m fine. I honestly was half asleep for most of it.” A lot of droning about marketing. It was really something that could have been summed up in an email. It wasn’t like he was actually doing anything for it, other than possibly posting about it on social media. “But how have you been Bernie?” He stepped into her room and shut the door behind him before putting dinner on her desk. “Got you burritos from this place I saw when driving back. Never heard of it and never had it before but the food looked super tasty.”

“That sounds like it should be good.” She reached into the bag and began setting the burritos on the table. “I’ve been doing okay. Been feeling much better since I’ve had a few days to rest. Also went for a walk around campus earlier just to get my blood going. Can’t wait to get back to class on Monday and back to practice. I feel really bad I missed the competition yesterday.”

“You couldn’t help it though. Coach Shamir told you that you shouldn’t come until you feel better right?”

“Yeah. She wants my bruises to heal up so I don’t accidently injure myself further when using my bow. But I can’t wait to get back into the swing of things.”

They sat on the floor after spreading out the towel to catch any spills from the burritos and had dinner. They didn’t put up a drama, opting instead for talking. Well Bernie was talking and Sylvain listened as she relayed the adventures of her D&D group. Instead of going in person, she video called in and Sylvain barely understood half of the words she was saying but at least she sounded like she was having fun.

Once they finished eating, Sylvain grabbed the remote so they could watch at least one episode of the drama before he headed back to his room for the night. Since she was still recovering from her bruises, he was afraid to put his arms around her and accidently hurt her. Instead, Bernie laid down on her right side, her head resting on Sylvain’s lap. Sylvain slowly ran his fingers through her hair, careful to not touch the shrinking bump on the back of her head.

“Ingrid brought you lunch right? She never responded to my text about it, other than threatening to block me if I kept texting her about it.”

“Yeah, she did.” Bernie giggled. “You really didn’t need to send her so many messages about it Sylvian.”

“I had to make sure she would do it,” he protested.

“Well she did and we chatted a bit.”

“Not about me right?” He grinned.

“No, about….something else.”

He waited but Bernie didn’t elaborate. Well, it’s not like she had to tell him everything. “So should we get started on the episode then?”

No response. He glanced down and saw Bernie’s eyes were closed, her breathing even. She had fallen asleep on him?

“I guess we’re not watching an episode after all,” he said softly. Normally he wouldn’t mind letting her sleep on him but he did have another meeting tomorrow and he did have some school work to get done. Two more weeks until he was finally free of that.

He carefully picked her up as slowly as he could to not wake her, one around under her knees, the other on her back, so her head rested on his chest. She stirred and Sylvain froze until she settled. It took a bit of work but he managed to get her into bed(on her right side) and pulled the blankets up to her chin. Bernie easily got cold after all.

“Night Bernie.” He gently kissed the top of her head before quietly slipping out of her room.


	49. Chapter 49

Sighing, Bernadetta stepped out of class, her head already swimming. Despite emailing her professors and getting all the work she missed, going to class and seeing how much she missed, drove it home that it was going to take a lot of work to get her back on track. At least her absences were excused so she didn’t have to worry about this affecting her credits.

She spotted Yuri waiting for her under a tree and he waved as she walked over.

“I feel like it’s been forever since we last saw each other,” he said with a chuckle.

She nodded. “It does feel like that.” Since she didn’t physically go to D&D over the weekend and with her struggling to catch up on work, she hadn’t really had time to see anyone the past couple of days. When Yuri suggested they get dinner together on Thursday, she decided to take it. Yes, she still had work to do to catch up on everything but she felt like another evening alone was going to drive her insane. Plus Sylvain let her know he would probably be leaving Friday night and coming back Sunday evening. It was the final set of meetings and he was planning on doing it all back to back to back just to get it done and over with. Of course she advised him to not push himself but he admitted he just wanted to get it done so he could focus on his school work.

“Do you need me to carry your bag? You aren’t pushing yourself right?”

“I’m okay now. It aches a little but I’m feeling much better now.” She couldn’t wait to get back into archery next week. There were still a few more competitions of the season and she knew everyone was counting on her.

“That’s good to hear. I was incredibly worried when I heard you fell down a flight of stairs but I’m glad you weren’t seriously hurt.”

“Yeah, apparently I was super lucky.” Bernadetta looked away. Ingrid had texted her yesterday that she should be able to get the video from the cameras soon, most likely by the weekend. She would have had to sooner but Dimitri needed to pull a few strings of his own to get the data. Bernadetta didn’t know whether to be impressed or scared by the reach they had. Never get on their bad side was a good motto to have.

“That reminds me of the time when you tripped when they were renovating the gardens,” said Yuri. “You fell off that pile of rocks and cut up your hands.”

“Oh yeah.” Bernadetta looked down at her palms and gestured to a faint scar on her left hand. “This scar is from that.” She winced at the memory, remembering that her father had been furious once he saw her injuries. It was soon after that that Yuri’s grandfather was fired, taking her only friend with him.

“It wasn’t your fault Bernie,” said Yuri with a knowing look.

“But if I…”

“It wasn’t your fault.” He stopped and gently took her hands. “It was never your fault.”

“But if I never got hurt then…”

Yuri shook his head. “I would never blame you over something like that Bernie.” He grimaced and gently pulled her to the side off the path and tugged her over to a bench and sat down, pulling her down to sit next to him.

“Yuri? What are you doing? We’re going to get food right?”

“We are,” he agreed. “But I think it would be best to get this off my chest now. Especially after something that just happened and I fear that if I hold it off for too much longer I’m not going to have courage to say it.”

“Uh okay?” Bernadetta replied slowly, not sure where he was going with this at all.

Yuri gently took her hands and ran his thumb along her knuckles. Bernadetta watched him in confusion. Sure it felt nice but at the same time it was sort of weird for Yuri to be so gentle with her. It felt like something Sylvain would do.

“Bernie, I’m generally good with words but not for something like this. I’ve been trying to tell you for some time now and well, I still have difficulty saying it.”

“Yuri, I don’t understand where you are going with this….”

“Perhaps it is better I use actions rather than words.”

“What are you-”

Bernadetta’s words were cut off as Yuri leaned forward and pressed a kiss on her lips. Her body stiffened and she stared wide eyed as Yuri pulled back, his face a bright red. “Please go out with me Bernie,” he whispered.

Bernadetta stared at Yuri, still trying to process what had just happened. “Wha…”

“Bernie?” Yuri put a gentle hand on her cheek.

She snapped to herself, her brain finally catching up to what happened. She scrambled to her feet, her hands over her mouth.

“Bernie?” Yuri got up slowly, and reached for her. “Are you?”

“I…I’m sorry Yuri,” she stammered before turning and running. She didn’t know where her feet were taking her but she let herself run, the back of her hand rubbing her mouth. What was that!? What was that? Why would Yuri…why did Yuri kiss her? Why did he like her like that?

What was she going to do? What was there to do? Was there something she could do? Should she do something?

She stopped, realizing her feet had taken her to Sylvain’s dorm building. A lump was in her throat as she took the elevator up to his floor. She knocked on his door but heard no sound from inside and there was no light on under his door. Biting her lip, she pulled out her phone and sent him a quick text, her fingers shaking over the keys. There were definitely a few spelling errors but she was too frazzled to even think about making sure her spelling was right.

She sat down with her back against his door, her legs against her chest, her face against her knees. In the back of her mind she knew that people would definitely get the wrong idea about her sitting out here but for the moment she didn’t care. She just need Sylvain to hurry up and come back to his room and tell her everything was okay.


	50. Chapter 50

Sylvain was in the middle of macroeconomics when he felt his phone go off in his pocket. Frowning, he pulled it out , far enough to see who had texted him. Bernie? From the preview he could see the text seemed off than what she usually sent him.

He glanced at the professor, who currently was facing the board, writing down points. Sylvain pulled out his phone and opened the text, shifting his eyes up to the professor and then at his phone.

_“Svylvan, I’m at your rom. Sorey, I needt o talk to you right now. Please…something hapened…”_

What in the world. There were way too many spelling errors, this was not like Bernie at all.

“What’s up?” murmured Felix from his left.

Sylvain put his phone back in his pocket. “Take notes for me. I need to go.” He quickly packed up his things. There was still an hour left for class but there was no way he was going to wait that long.

“Give me an explanation later,” murmured Felix, focusing back on the class.

Sylvain could feel eyes on him as he got up and hurried to the door. A quick look back and the professor was looking at him with a questioning look. Sylvain noted to himself to write an email later to “explain” why he suddenly had to leave. He probably had some leeway though since he got the highest grades in the class.

Once he was out of the classroom and out of the building, Sylvain took off into a run. He was a fit guy but he was panting by the time he reached his dorm building, a stitch digging into his side. He ignored it as best as he could as he took the elevator up to his floor.

Bernie was sitting on the floor in front of his room, her knees drawn to her chest. She looked up at him and he saw her eyes were red and puffy. “Sylvain,” she whimpered.

Crap, how long was she out here?

He kneeled in front of her. “Hey, I came as fast as I could.”

“I…I’m sorry, you were in class right…” She looked distressed.

“It’s okay, it was a boring class and I already knew everything the professor was teaching. Let’s get you in my room.” He opened his door, grateful that he had tidied up earlier in the week and even washed his sheets. “You can sit on my bed if you want.”

Bernie walked in after him, her steps slow and she kicked off her shoes and jumped onto his bed, her legs criss-crossed.

Sylvain set his bag down on the floor before following suit, kicking off his shoes and hopping onto the bed next to Bernie. He put an arm around her shoulder and she leaned into his side. “What happened Bernie?” What in the world could have happened to her? He had never seen her look this frazzled before, not even when her dad was being an asshole.

“I…the more I think about it…” She lifted her hand to her mouth, gently touching her lips with her fingers.

“Think about what?” he asked. He gently rubbed her arm. “I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on Bernie,” he said quietly.

“Right…yeah, that makes sense.” She shook her head. “I’m just not sure what to do. You would definitely know, you know way more about this stuff than I do.”

“Well I know about a lot of things. Hit me with it Bernie.”

She touched her lips again and whispered. “Yuri kissed me.”

Sylvain paused in rubbing her arm as he tried to process what she said. “What?”

“Yuri kissed me,” she repeated with a stammer. “He kissed me and then asked me out.”

Sylvain was so stupid. He should have seen it. Heck, he probably did see it. Yuri was always seemed to care about Bernie, always spending time with her and always trying to be nice to her. They knew each other as children for crying out loud. Who wouldn’t want to date Bernie? She was kind, caring and was always looking out for others. What was there not to like?

It was a no brainer that Yuri would want to ask her out. And it was obvious Bernie liked spending time with him, they were seeing each other so often now. Heck, right now she probably saw Yuri more than she saw Sylvain. It made sense, they had similar interests, they played D&D together, they had that sandwich thing, they were perfect for each other.

Where would that leave Sylvain though? He was a male friend. Bernie probably would stop spending time with him to be with Yuri instead. Heck, Yuri probably didn’t like how touchy feely Sylvain was with Bernie in the first place, he probably would feel threatened by it.

Bernie would probably stop hanging out with Sylvain or put a wall up between them. They wouldn’t be able to have Friday night drama dates anymore. He couldn’t tell Bernie that he loved her because Yuri might take it the wrong way.

Sylvain would be nothing now. He didn’t know if he could be just regular, normal friends with her.

“Sylvain?” She looked up at him wide-eyed. “Are you okay? You’re very quiet…”

“Sorry.” He shook his head and forced a weak smile. “Congratulations.”

“What?” Her expression drew into confusion.

He pulled his arm away from her and hopped off his bed. “Probably best for you to not be in my room alone then, wouldn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea.”

“Sylvain…what are you…talking about?” She reached for him, clutching the edge of his shirt.

“Come on Bernie, that’s what you need to do with Yuri.” He gently pulled her hand off of him. “Since you two are together now and all.”

Why was she staring at him like he had hit her? He thought he was being considerate.

“Why do you think I am dating him?” she whispered.

“Aren’t you? I mean he kissed you right?” Sylvain shrugged. “I can understand it can be scary and such to date, especially for your first one but I believe in you Bernie.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets so he wouldn’t hug her or touch her or do something weird. “Congrats. Wait, why are you crying?”

“No reason,” she whispered, looking away, rubbing her eyes. “I…I have to go.” She grabbed her backpack and slung it over a shoulder and rushed out of his room.

He winced as the door slammed behind her. “Well Sylvain, that’s it huh?” He rubbed the back of his neck as he glanced at his switch on his desk. He had a few more DIYs to give her along with some furniture in _Animal Crossing_. Guess that wasn’t going to happen anymore.

Why did he feel off and hollow inside? Like something was ripped out? He shoved his fingers through his hair over and over again. It felt like his skin was crawling. He wanted to rush out, to grab Bernie and hold onto her tight. He wanted to bury his face into her shoulder or ran his fingers through her hair.

“Huh, I’m going through withdrawal already.”

This was going to be a terrible night then. He had to be happy for her though. Look at Bernie, growing up and finding a boyfriend. Someone that could be by her side and comfort her. Not in a way he could. He had to let her go right? That’s what friends did? They cheered on their friends from the sidelines and made sacrifices if needed. The TV shows and whatnot always said that romantic relationships were the most important.

He was going to be fine, right? Right? He gritted his teeth and took out his phone and began searching through his contacts. One of his girls had to be free tonight right? He needed to feel something, anything to get this hollow feeling out of his chest.


	51. Chapter 51

Bernadetta heard a knock on her door and then another.

“Bernie, it’s me Ingrid.”

Oh right, Ingrid said she would be coming today. Bernadetta got off her bed and slowly made her way to the door and pulled it open. “Hi Ingrid,” she said softly.

Bernadetta couldn’t blame Ingrid as she gave Bernadetta a once over. She knew she looked like a mess. As soon as classes ended on Friday, she went back to her room and changed into her pajamas, her hair a frazzled mess. It was hard sitting through class today, her brain going back to the conversation she had with Sylvain last night. Well, the conversation he seemed to have by himself. Why in the world did he not listen to her? All she wanted was advice on what to do about Yuri but he had to go ahead and put words in her mouth.

Not able to take it anymore, she had left, knowing if she stayed there any longer she would have broken down into tears. She thought Sylvain of all people was someone she could turn to about something like this.

Since then she had kept her phone on silent. She had seen a few messages come in from Yuri but she left them unread. She still didn’t know what to do about that. Sadly Sylvain had not texted her all day and although she thought about texting him back, her mind kept going back to those words he said to her last night.

Apparently he wanted nothing to do with her anymore.

“Are your bruises hurting?” asked Ingrid. “Did you take your pain medication.”

Bernadetta shook her head. “Something like that…I’m fine now though.” She forced herself to smile. “So what brings you here Ingrid?”

“Did you not check your texts?”

“Oh, sorry, I haven’t checked since classes let out…” Bernadetta got her phone from the charge station. Like Ingrid said, there was a text from her. “Oh, you were able to get the video data?”

Ingrid nodded and took out her phone. “That’s right, I have it here. Dimitri had to do some convincing on his end, I think he spun a whole tale about computer projects and whatnot but I was able to get the raw footage for the day. Right on time too since they delete it after a week.” Ingrid started up a video and turned her phone to Bernadetta.

The footage wasn’t great, the quality slightly grainy but it was in color and Bernadetta was able to make out her and Annette heading for the staircase. Her eyes widen as she noticed a girl weaving her way through the crowd and Bernadetta could only watch numbly as the girl came up behind the Bernadetta in the video, and just as she took a step on the stairwell, the girl gave Bernadetta a hard push in the back.

As Bernadetta tumbled and fell out of view, the girl walked away from the gathering crowd.

“That’s Monica,” whispered Bernadetta, as the girl turned towards the camera in her escape.

“Monica?” Ingrid took her phone back.

“She’s a model. I met her when Sylvain took me on a photoshoot set.”

“On a photoshoot set huh?” Ingrid tapped her chin thoughtfully. “This would be something to ask Sylvain but I think he left already for the city. Maybe you could call him? He always picks up for you.”

“I can’t…” She looked down at her desk.

“What do you mean you can’t?” Ingrid put her hands on her hips. “Bernie, this girl attacked you. That was obviously no accident. We could report this, but I doubt they would do anything about this to be honest, especially since we didn’t exactly get this data through normal means.”

Now Bernadetta was really wondering how they got this video in the first place. “Well…we had…a fight?” Could it even be called that?

Ingrid’s eyes widen. “Really? You two? Well I guess it would have happened eventually. Don’t worry, even if you two had had a fight if you call him, I’m sure he’ll pick up though.”

She shook her head. “It…it’s not like that at all. I know he wants nothing to do with me anymore…”

Ingrid leaned against Bernadetta’s desk, arms crossed. “Explain Bernie.”

Maybe it was the tone of voice or it was because Ingrid knew Sylvain better than Bernadetta did but the events from last night spilled out of her. She didn’t even care that her face turned red as she explained about Yuri kissing her and asking her out, her focus was on Sylvain’s odd behavior and the way he shut down anything she was trying to say.

“That s.o.b.” Ingrid punched her fist into her open palm. “If he was here right now I would give him a good uppercut to bring him back to his senses.”

Bernadetta blinked. “Uh, Ingrid?”

“He’s totally reading the situation wrong like the dumbass he is. Honestly, how could someone so smart be so braindead?”

“You don’t have to be that harsh,” stammered Bernadetta.

“Oh I can because he’s a stupid idiot.” Ingrid sighed. “Bernie, do you want to date Yuri? Do you even like him in that way?”

“I…I’m not sure.” She looked down at her hands. “I mean I like being around Yuri but…”

“Did you like kissing him?”

“It was a bit shocking I have to admit.”

“But did you like kissing him?”

“No…I would say not.”

“Okay, then can you see yourself actually dating him? Like picturing it I mean?”

Bernadetta thought for a moment but it felt so weird so do so. It was like dating Sylvain, something she wouldn’t ever do. “I…I don’t think so. I don’t think I like him that way at all.”

“Then don’t date him. It wouldn’t be far to either of you. Sure it might be awkward at first but if he values you as a friend more than a possible romantic partner then you can still be friends through it, if you want to of course.”

Bernadetta bit her lip. “But what if he doesn’t?” she whispered.

“Then it’s his loss.” Ingrid put a hand on Bernadetta’s shoulder. “Don’t you ever make yourself uncomfortable and do things you don’t want to do for a guy. Do you feel comfortable talking to him in person about it or would you want to do it over text?”

“I’ll do it in person,” she stammered. She owed Yuri that much. Especially since he had the courage to ask her to her face.

“As for Sylvain, well I’ll help out with that one. Knowing him, I think he’ll be avoiding you for a while so outside help is a must. I’ll talk to him when he gets back from those meetings and I think I’ll do a bit of digging into this Monica. You be careful for now Bernie. Hmm, maybe we should look into getting you bodyguards…”

“Oh, that’s alright,” Bernie said quickly. “I mean, nothing else has happened in a week.”

“True but at the same time I don’t like it. Don’t go out that often over the weekend and make sure you’re around people, okay? At least until I can talk to Sylvain about this.”

“Okay,” she whispered.

“Great. Well I have a lot of stuff to do.” Ingrid stretched her arms over her head. “I guess I gotta get to work on that.”

“Ingrid?”

Ingrid had her hand on Bernadetta’s door handle and she looked back at her. “Yes Bernie?”

“Thanks Ingrid. For everything.”

“That’s what friends do Bernie. And don’t worry, Sylvain will be groveling at your feet once I’m through with him.”


	52. Chapter 52

Sylvain’s plan when he got back to his dorm on Sunday was to take a shower and crawl into bed and sleep the afternoon and evening away. Saturday was terrible, the meetings all blending together and Sunday morning was no exception. Thankfully it was the final one and a wrap up for the most part. Now everything was in the hands of the marketing department and the distributor. Sure his face will be plastered on billboards and ads to promote the clothing line but what a small price to pay for finally having his weekends to himself.

His lonely weekends.

He wondered how Bernie was doing with Yuri. Had they gone on a date yet? Probably right? When would it be appropriate to contact her? He really did not want to give Yuri the wrong idea and have him be mad at Bernie.

Alas, his plans was thrown out the window as Ingrid walked out of Felix’s room and stormed over to Sylvain, her arms crossed.

“Can I help you?” Sylvain asked slowly. He went over every single interaction and text message they had within the last two weeks. Ingrid’s eyes had that glint in them and from the brief glimpse he was able to catch of Felix before the door shut, Felix was giving Sylvain the “you’re dead meat” look.

Ingrid was out for Sylvain’s blood and he had no idea why.

She gestured to his door. “Open it and we’ll talk inside.”

Sylvain would rather run but she was blocking the only way to get to the elevator. So he obeyed, unlocking his door and letting her into his room. Sylvain dropped his bag on the ground by his desk as Ingrid shut his door.

“So I talked to Bernie and she told me what happened when she told you that Yuri kissed her.”

Was that what this was about? Sylvain rested his hand on the back of his neck. “Yeah, it surprised me too but it makes sense. They are childhood friends after all. Of course they would end up liking each other in that way.”

Ingrid frowned and gave Sylvain a once over. “Sylvain, you…hang on. You think they’re dating?”

“Well yeah?” He raised an eyebrow. Was Ingrid feeling okay? “I know it’s going to be weird for me to not see Bernie as often and cuddle and touch her as much but I think I’ll be okay.” Although would he though? The past couple of days were a blessing because he was so busy he didn’t have to think too much about the fact he couldn’t spend as much time with Bernie as before and even then they couldn’t do some of the same activities.

“You think that just because of the possibility that Bernie is dating Yuri, it would change her relationship with you?” Ingrid stared at him in disbelief.

“Well yeah? I don’t want Yuri to get jealous and it causes problems between them.”

Ingrid rubbed the bridge of her nose. “How can you be such a dumbass?” she murmured.

“Hey now, what was that for?” Sylvain frowned.

Ingrid looked up and her demeanor seemed to shift. “Ah yes, that makes sense then. I always thought of Bernie as a coward with loose boundaries. She doesn’t know how to stand up for herself and always needs other people to make decisions for her.”

“Hey now, what are you saying?” Sylvain’s hands slowly curled into fists, a slight fiery rage building up in his stomach.

“Well, it’s obvious isn’t it? Bernie is a coward and probably a slut, I mean she wants to spend time with you and keep a friendship with Yuri. Good on you Sylvain for-”

Sylvain got up from his seat, his hand clutching the collar of Ingrid’s shirt, his eyes blazing in anger. “Don’t you say that kind of stuff about her,” he snarled. “I thought you thought of her as a friend.”

A small smile poked through Ingrid’s façade as she gently grasped Sylvain’s hand, not seemingly worried about him grabbing her. “Well that’s what you’re saying about her when you made a choice for her,” she said calmly.

Sylvain blinked and released Ingrid’s collar in shock. “What?”

“You chose for her. You couldn’t trust her to make her own decisions. Or…” Ingrid tilted her head slightly. “Were you worried about yourself? Did you think she was going to pull away from you? Leave you because of the possibility she would be dating Yuri? Did you back up to protect yourself?”

“What are you saying Ingrid?” whispered Sylvain.

“She’s not dating Yuri. She doesn’t want to date him.”

“She doesn’t…” Sylvain collapsed in his chair, his hands hanging limply at his side.

Ingrid crossed her arms as she stood over him. “She came to you for advice on what to do. In case you forgot, you are the closest friend she has. She didn’t come to you to tell you she was dating him.”

Sylvain opened and shut his mouth, his mind quickly whirling to all the things he said to her. No wonder she looked like he had hit her. “I’m just as bad as her father.” He pressed his palms over his eyes. He made the decision without thinking how she feels about it. He ran too far ahead, to help himself rather than her.

He needed to apologize, he needed to beg her forgiveness.

“Hang on, before you go running out of here with probably an embarrassing display of affection as you grovel at her feet, there’s another reason I wanted to talk to you, also related to Bernie. The actual reason I’m here.”

“Which is?”

“Bernie falling down the stairs wasn’t an accident. She was pushed.” Ingrid pulled out her phone and showed Sylvain security footage. He watched numbly as Monica came up behind Bernie and shoved her.

“Why would…”

“I looked into Monica. Apparently she’s the gold-digging type. Will get close to people with money, milk them for all they are worth and move on.”

“That would explain the crapton of texts she sends me,” murmured Sylvain. “But why would she go after Bernie?”

Ingrid crossed her arms. “Well apparently everyone she went after before were not as wealthy as you. It’s quite obvious that she was trying to get close to you to use you for your money.”

“But that still doesn’t explain why she would go after Bernie?”

Ingrid sighed. “Use your head Sylvain. Since you brought her along for that one shoot, I assume you were very open with your affection towards her as you are. Monica probably saw it and put two and two together.”

Sylvain stared at Ingrid numbly. “You’re saying that Monica went after Bernie because she is important to me?”

“She probably thought if she removed the competition or took her out of commission for a bit, you would be open for the taking. Considering you do have the reputation of being very loose and sleeping with woman, she probably thought you were in a committed relationship with Bernie or something.”

“But that’s…”

Ingrid shrugged. “So that’s why I wanted to bring it up with you before telling Bernie about this. What do you want to do about it?”

Well, there was a lot Sylvain wanted to do right now. The biggest one being to keep that woman away from Bernie. “I’ll take care of her,” he said coldly.

“I thought you would say that.” Ingrid shrugged. “If you need any help or need more pull, Dimitri is one hundred percent on board with it.”

“Hang on, Dimitri knows!?”

“Of course, he was the one who got the video in the first place. I had to fill him in on a few details.”

Sylvain sighed. That meant that Felix most likely knew as well. Well, nothing stayed hidden in their friend circle for long. He stood. “I’ll deal with that later. I need to talk to Bernie first.”

“Of course.” Ingrid opened the door and gestured for Sylvain to go first. “Go grovel at your princess’s feet.”

Sylvain gave her a deadpan stare. “Really now?”

She shrugged. “Thought I would attempt to make it more dramatic.”

“Thanks…Ingrid by the way. For everything. And sorry for grabbing you.”

“Trust me, you would have been on the floor if I had a problem with it.”

Yeah that was true. He had never been able to win against Ingrid when they wrestled as kids. He hurried out of his room and called Bernie. “Where are you right now?” he asked, not even waiting for her hello.

***

Bernadetta took a deep breath and stepped out of her dorm room, her heart pounding in her chest. It took her almost two days to work up enough courage but she finally texted Yuri asking him to meet her to give him an answer to his question.

She felt bad it took her so long, she ended up missing D&D on Saturday as a result. She messaged the group saying she was feeling a bit under the weather and everyone sent back well wishes and told her to get well soon. She felt really bad about it since the group was going into a roc’s nest and her cleric abilities would be useful to keep Balthus’s character alive. However based on the update she got after the session, it went well enough although everyone’s HPs were super low.

Hopefully everything could get sorted out that she would be able to play with them next week.

Her stomach clenched at the thought. That meant this conversation with Yuri had to go well. “His reaction isn’t in your control,” she told herself. “How he reacts is up to him and I shouldn’t blame myself for it.”

Could she blame herself for how Sylvian reacted though?

No! She needed to stop thinking about that. Ingrid was going to be talking to him today. She’ll figure out what was going on with him and hopefully figure out what was happening with Monica. Bernadetta had listened to Ingrid’s warning, staying in her room, only going out when there was a crowd.

She was planning on meeting Yuri in one of the small courtyards. It was near the dorm buildings so it wasn’t like she was traveling far. From what she knew about Yuri, even if he didn’t want to be her friend anymore, he wasn’t the type to just sit back when someone he knew was getting hurt. If Monica did show up, she knew she could rely on Yuri.

Of course that was her catastrophizing, nothing like that was going to happen. She entered the small courtyard and was surprised to see Yuri was already here. He got up from the bench as Bernadetta approached.

“Did I keep you waiting? I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, I came early.” Yuri gestured to the bench. “You want to sit or?”

Bernadetta shook her head. “No, it’s okay, this’ll probably be a quick conversation if anything.” She bit her lip. How in the world should she start?

“I’m sorry for doing that Bernie.”

She blinked. “What?”

“I’m sorry.” Yuri looked away. “I acted on impulse and I shouldn’t have. I should have asked you directly instead of kissing you and assume you would want to date me.”

“Wait…you…”

“Isn’t that why you are here?” Yuri frowned. “Unless you managed to gain feelings for me in the past two days?”

“No I didn’t, wait, I don’t mean it like that,” she stammered. “I like you a lot Yuri, as a person but…oh Bernie, you’re just ruining things aren’t you?” She sighed and shook her head. She had a whole speech planned for this but it was already out the window. “I’m sorry I can’t reciprocate your feelings,” she said quietly.

“It’s fine, like I said, I expected this answer, especially after having a chance to think about it the past couple of days.” He smiled. “You’re a good person Bernie and I know it probably took a lot courage for you to even come out here and say it.”

“Uh yeah,” she stammered. “But I still want to be friends Yuri, if that’s okay. I enjoy playing D&D with you and remembering the old times and it’s just a lot of fun to hang out together. I understand if that’s too difficult though.”

“It’ll be a bit awkward at first but I think I can manage.”

She looked up in surprise and saw he had cracked a smile. “Trust me, my friends would have my head if I was the reason they lost their cleric.”

“Thank you Yuri,” she whispered.

“Honestly I should be thanking you Bernie. You’re still willing to put up with me even after everything.”

“Well as your grandfather put it, we are the chaotic duo,” said Bernadetta with a giggle.

“Oh we were. Honestly, sometimes I think back and I’m shocked with how much we did back then. We were a pair of troublemakers.”

“We were weren’t we?”

They grinned at each other, both thinking of memories of back then.

“Well, now that that is behind us, you want to go do something Bernie? I can show you a few more of the games in the clubroom.”

“Maybe later Yuri, I’m actually going to be meeting up with a friend later.”

“Got it. Next time then.” He took a step towards her and held out his arms. “Can I ask for a hug or is that stepping over the line?”

“No, it’s fine,” she said quickly, stepping into the hug. It wasn’t as nice and comforting as hugs with Sylvain but it was passable and nice. She could feel how much Yuri cared for her in it.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I should probably go eat my feelings away.” He paused, noticing Bernadetta’s expression fall. “I meant that as a joke.”

“Oh, I understand,” she stammered. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright.”

As Bernadetta walked away, she sighed in relief. That went so much better than she expected. That was one thing taken care of. She hoped Ingrid was getting through to Sylvain. If they couldn’t be friends anymore…

She shook her head. No, Ingrid would succeed. She was the type of person to not take no for an answer.

Her dorm now in sight, she picked up the pace slightly. The pathways were oddly empty. Not weird for a Sunday afternoon, on a cold brisk day. Everyone was probably inside doing homework or just enjoying their day off. It was just the idea that someone was out there who wanted her harm that made her walk faster.

The ringing of her phone startled her and she paused and pulled it out of her back pocket. Sylvain’s name looked up at her. Where were the odds…

She picked it up and before she could say anything Sylvain said quickly, “Where are you right now?”

“I’m outside my dorm, I’m just about to go inside. Why?”

“Stay there, I’m coming to you.”

“What?”

“Ingrid told me everything.” She could hear sounds of him moving and the ding of the elevator.

“Oh…she did.”

“I…I have a lot more to say in person but I’m sorry for being such an ass Bernie. I’m truly sorry.”

She couldn’t help the small smile that spread across her face. “It’s okay Sylvain,” she whispered happily.

“It’s not okay. I was an asshole to you for no goddamn reason other than me being an idiot. Damn it, I need to say all this kind of stuff in person. Just wait there okay?”

“Okay…” She trailed off as she looked in the direction of Sylvain’s dorm and saw someone quickly approaching her in baggy clothes, a hood pulled over the head. Her grip tightened on her phone as the hood fluttered back slightly from the wind and Bernadetta caught a glimpse of red hair. “Monica…” she whispered.


	53. Chapter 53

Monica wore a baggy hoodie, her hands shoved into the pockets as she approached Bernadetta, her steps filled with purpose.

“Bernie!? Bernie what’s going on!?” Sylvain’s voice echoed in her ear. “Bernie!?”

“I’m outside my dorm building. I’ll stall her as long as I can,” she whispered, before putting her phone in her pocket, setting it on speaker phone. “What do you want Monica?” she said louder, her voice wavering slightly.

Monica stopped a few feet from Bernadetta, her head tilted slightly, her red eyes glinting with anger. “Why,” she snarled. “What does he see in you? You’re so plain, so ugly, your hair is a mess and you don’t have breasts to speak of and you are obviously useless in bed. Why does he like you!?”

Bernadetta took a cautious step back. “He….Sylvain and I are just friends. Close friends but we’re just friends. If you have a close friend someday you would understand. I understand him as a person…which you obviously don’t. You want him for what he can do for you. And…I don’t care about what he could do for me. I care about what I can do for him so…”

She yelped as Monica suddenly moved forward,grabbing Bernadetta’s arm. The grip was so tight, it was almost bone crushing. “BS, there’s no way someone like Sylvain Gautier is like that. He will have sex with any girl that looks at him, always showering gifts so girls will sleep with him again. And yet I get nothing. I offer him sex again but he ignores me.” She narrowed her eyes. “And yet he will waste time sending random videos to you. What do you have on him? Blackmail?”

“Nothing like that. Just friendship.” Bernadetta met Monica’s eyes. “I’m sorry you don’t understand how important having a close friend you can rely on is.”

“The only one you can rely on is yourself.” Monica shoved Bernadetta forward.

Bernadetta used her hands to catch herself, her palms getting scraped as she fell to the ground. Before she could move, she felt Monica grab her hair, pulling her head back.

“This won’t make Sylvain like you at all, just to let you know.” Bernadetta tried to glare back at her the best she could.

“Well if you had just been in a coma in the hospital or dead then I wouldn’t need to go this far do I? It’s your own damn fault.”

Bernadetta tried to move away but the grip on her hair was too tight.

Monica’s voice dropped to a low whisper. “Maybe it is best if I make you disappear.”

“Monica!”

Bernadetta wanted to cry as Monica released her hair but she forced her tears back and looked up at Sylvain. His attention was solely on Monica and she could tell from the set of his shoulders and the way he walked, he was angry. No he was furious.

“Sylvain,” squeaked Monica. She skipped over to Sylvain, every trace of malice gone from her expression. “I didn’t expect you be here.” She grabbed his arm and pressed herself against his side.

Sylvain looked down at her with those dark eyes. “Let me go.”

“But Sylvain.”

“Let me go while I’m feeling generous.”

Monica released him and took a step back, obviously hearing the venom in his voice. “But…”

“It would be for the best if you leave here right now and never, ever show your face in front of me ever again. And forget about doing any work for the Blaidyyd Conglomerate and any of their properties. We do not take kindly to those who attack our friends.”

Monica backed up a step. “You…you will regret this…”

“I doubt I will.” Sylvain rested his hand on the back of his neck. “You are nothing, just a girl who leeches off other people. Let’s just say, I have the money and I wouldn’t mind tearing you apart if it means you will get out of my life.”

Monica backed up a few steps. “You…I’ll…”

“There’s nothing you can do that we cannot counteract. I mean unless you want to go after someone else with a lot of power but I doubt they would fall to your schemes.”

Monica turned to Bernadetta, the glare so powerful Bernadetta was worried that she would be burned where she stood. “This is all your fault,” she snarled.

Sylvain grabbed Monica’s arm. “And if you ever touch a hair on Bernie’s head, I will not hold back.” He released her and Monica backed away from him. She sputtered, her obviously trying to form words but nothing was coming to mind as she ran away.

“Like always they’re all bark but no bite when it comes down to it.” Sylvain’s expression soften as he rushed to Bernadetta’s side. “Bernie, are you okay?” He kneeled next to her, giving her a once over. “I came as fast as I could but…” He winced as he looked at her palms. “You’re hurt. If I had come sooner-”

Bernadetta threw her arms around his shoulders, hugging him tight, her body shaking.

After a moment, Sylvain’s strong arms went around her, holding her tight. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“It…it’s okay Sylvain. I was just so scared.” She pulled back so she could look him in the eye. “I knew you would come though.”

“You have so much faith in me.” He shook his head before gently resting a hand on her cheek. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry Bernie for those things I said. I shouldn’t have assumed but…I was scared.”

“Scared?” She tilted her head slightly.

“I was scared you would leave me. I mean since you would have a boyfriend and he probably won’t like how we spend so much time together and I’m always touching you. I didn’t want Yuri to get the wrong idea. But like I said, it was my own fear. I didn’t want to lose you and if I pushed you away first…” His expression darkened. “If Ingrid hadn’t yelled at me about it then Monica might have…”

Before Bernadetta could say anything, he hugged her tight again, his hand pressing the back of her head against his chest.

“Damn it, I might have lost you Bernie,” he whispered.

“But you didn’t. And everything worked out. We’re fine Sylvain. Everything is okay now.”

He pulled back and put his hands on either side of her face, pressing their foreheads together. “Everything is okay. No matter what, I’m going to listen to you Bernie.”

She put her hands over his. “Even if I end up getting a boyfriend someday, we’ll be as close as before,” she replied. “I mean, I don’t have anyone else to watch dramas with.”

He grinned. “We still have that one drama to watch don’t we?”

“We do.”

“I mean, we do have a couple of hours…”

She giggled. “Why not? Although I should probably take care of my palms first.”

“Yeah, let’s do that.” Sylvain got up and gently helped her to her feet and led the way into her dorm building.


	54. Chapter 54

“You can open your eyes now Bernie.”

Bernadetta opened her eyes and blinked slowly.

“Ahh, you look so cute Bernie!” squeaked Annette with a loud clap. She looked to Ingrid. “Doesn’t she look cute?”

Ingrid nodded. “I agree. Annette, you are way too skilled at doing makeup.”

“Oh I just know the basics from watching tutorials.”

Mercedes chuckled, watching the interaction.

Curiously Bernadetta looked in the mirror and was shocked at the girl looking back at her. Her hair was straightened and tamed, accented by a sparkly barrette. Her makeup was subtle but her eyes were lined with eyeliner and there was a slight hint of a blush on her cheeks. A far cry from her usual barefaced look but tonight was the annual Garreg Mach ball. It was vital she dressed up today, especially since she technically had a date.

The girls had gathered together in Annette’s and Mercedes’s room to get ready for the evening. Bernadetta had seen videos of girls getting ready together but she didn’t realize how much fun it could be in person!

“I think we should get downstairs, the boys are waiting,” said Annette after checking her phone. “Felix is using periods at the end of his sentences, I think he’s worried that we’re going to be late.”

“How can we be late to the ball?” Ingrid rolled her eyes. “You can arrive and leave whenever you want.”

“Perhaps he wants to make some more connections?” asked Mercedes.

Annette sighed. “That’s probably it. He’s way too work focused.”

Bernadetta smiled as she followed the girls out of the room and down the elevator. Bernadetta was the only one wearing a shawl over her dress but she was also the only one not from Faerghus. It was winter now and the nippy air was way too cold for her.

The elevator opened up into the lobby where the boys were waiting. They were all dressed up in the finest of suits accented with watches or pins. Sylvain brightened as he walked over to Bernadetta.

“You look so cute Bernie!” he gushed. “Those accessories, that barrette is a great touch.”

She blushed. “Annette helped with that. You look nice too Sylvain.”

“Well I have to match my date after all.” His expression shifted to concern. “Are you going to be okay in the walk over? That shawl doesn’t look that warm. Do you need my jacket?”

“I’ll be fine Sylvain,” she replied. “It’s not that far of a walk.”

“Sheesh, it hasn’t even been five minutes and you’re already insufferable,” said Felix with a roll of his eyes.

“Oh stop it Felix,” said Annette.

“I have to admit, it’s way better than having Sylvain pick up random girls at the ball,” commented Dimitri.

“You guys…really?” grumbled Sylvain.

Bernadetta giggled along with the others. “Don’t worry Sylvain, I won’t judge you for it.”

“And that’s why you are the best Bernie.” He gave her a side hug.

“If we want to get there by the time the first dance number starts, we should leave now,” spoke up Dedue.

“Of course. Let us be off then.” Dimitri lead the way.

As they walked over, Sylvain kept one arm around Bernadetta’s shoulder. She had to smile. He wouldn’t admit it but she knew it was because he was worried about her being cold.

Like last year, the hall was decked out for the ball, the décor harping to a time long ago. It was already lively, the first song already going on at full swing. It didn’t take much for the group to split and go their separate ways. Felix and Annette headed for the dance floor, Dimitri and Ingrid went to foster more business connections(Dedue a step behind Dimitri) and Mercedes spotted a few friends from her other classes she wanted to talk with.

Bernadetta saw Ashe talking with Caspar and she waved to him and he waved back at her with a bright smile.

“So what do you want to do Bernie?” asked Sylvain. As soon as they were out of the nippy air, he had removed his hand from her shoulder and instead opted to hold her hand.

“We could go to the dessert table and recreate our first interaction,” teased Bernadetta.

“Oh Seiros, please no.” He shivered. “That memory still haunts me to this day. I was such an idiot back then.”

She giggled. “Don’t worry, I forgive you.”

“Well I’m glad you do. But I wouldn’t mind having a few bites. Those lemon cakes look really good.”

After stopping by the dessert table to sample a few pastries, Sylvain convinced Bernadetta to do a few dances with him on the dance floor. She refused at first, dancing was something she wasn’t good at but in the end she was happy to give in. Sylvain was obviously well trained and he led the way, his steps sure and quick.

After a few rounds of dancing, they slipped off the dance floor, Sylvain striking up conversations with people that came up to him. The business terms flew over Bernadetta’s head but she kept smiling and nodding along like she knew what they were talking about. Despite Sylvain’s gripe about suffering through business classes, this was obviously something he was passionate about, his eyes lighting up, and the way he was gesturing made it clear he would continue to expand the family business.

At about the halfway point of the night, Sylvain led Bernadetta out of the hall.

“Where are we going?” she asked him in confusion.

“I know you need a break from all the noise and well, I thought we could go the spot where we had our first conversation.”

Before she could ask for clarification, the willow tree came into view and she had to smile. With everything that happened over the past year, she hadn’t had time to sit under it. But that was okay with her, she had a lot of fun memories instead.

“Hmmm…will your dress be okay if we sit on the grass under it?” Sylvain looked at the ground in concern.

“It should be fine,” she said quickly. She took off her shawl and set it on the ground before sitting on it. She shivered as the cold air touched her bare shoulders.

“And just like last time…” Sylvain took off his suit jacket and held it out to her. “One warmed up Sylvain jacket for you. Wait, hang on!” He grabbed something out of a pocket and shoved it behind him before Bernadetta could get a good look at it. “Okay, now a Sylvain jacket for you.”

“Uh, okay then?” She took his jacket and put it around her shoulders. So warm.

He sat next to her and put an arm around her. “And you get a personal Sylvain heater on top of it.”

“I guess I’ve really lucked out today,” she laughed.

“You did. You won the Sylvain lottery and you have a lifetime supply of Sylvain.”

“I don’t even know what I’ll do with that much Sylvain in my life.”

They looked at each other and broke into a fit of laughs.

“Oh man, I think this party air is really getting to us,” said Sylvain.

“I think so too.”

They fell silent, but it was a comfortable silence.

“We should probably go back soon,” said Bernadetta reluctantly. “I think everyone is going to be wondering where we are.”

“Yeah, we should. But I wanted to give you something first.”

“Huh?” She looked at him in confusion.

Sylvain reached behind him. “Well this is our first year anniversary for our friendship and your birthday is at the end of the month.”

“Sylvain you didn’t need to get me anything,” she protested. Crap, did she have enough material to churn out a quick one shot story for him as a present? Why didn’t she think of making a one year anniversary present!

“I know that face! Think of this as a birthday present more than an anniversary present.” He pulled out a small box and held it out to her.

She stared at the box and then at him.

“Come on Bernie, it’s for you.” He took her hand and set the box in it. “Open it.”

She listened and gasped as she saw the jewelry inside. It was a silver ring on a chain. Squinting at it in the dim light, she could make out small jewels along the edges. Hang on, were those diamonds!?

“There’s something engraved on the inside of the ring?” She couldn’t really tell what it said due to the lack of light.

“It might be a little corny but it says friends forever.” Sylvain loosened his tie and released the first button of his shirt and pulled out a necklace from under it. A ring, similar to the one in the box. “I got us matching ones. It’s not too weird is it?”

She smiled. “I don’t think it’s weird at all.” She gently took the necklace out of the box and unclasped it and set it around her neck. It took a few tries but she was able to clasp it and adjusted it so the clasp was in the back, the ring in front. “So?”

“Looks good on you.” He frowned. “Although it doesn’t really match your dress. Damn, should have thought of that.”

Bernadetta shrugged. “That’s alright. I mean, this dress is only for tonight.”

“True.” He got up and held out a hand to help her up. “Shall we return to the ball before our friends come searching and demand to know where we have been?”

“Let’s,” she agreed, taking his hand.

They returned to the ball, hand in hand. Bernadetta wasn’t sure what stories the future may hold but she had a feeling they would be fine, as long as they were together.


	55. Epilogue

_7 years later_

“He’s so hot isn’t he?”

“I know! He glanced at me when he was coming in and I thought my knees were going to give out!” 

Bernadetta looked up from the manuscript she was copy-editing. A few of the other editors were huddled in a circle, talking loudly among themselves. Not like she could blame him. The president of the publishing firm’s parent company was making a personal visit today and all of the woman, and a few of the men wanted to get a peek at the good looking president. Not like Bernadetta could blame them but she guessed her own view of him was jaded since he had been crying on their couch last night as she destroyed him in smash.

Hearing a gasp to her left, Bernadetta turned to the woman sitting next to her. “What’s wrong Claribel?”

Claribel lifted up the binder on her desk. “The publisher wanted these files to show the company president,” she squeaked. “I forgot to give it to him.”

“I’ll do it,” said Bernadetta.

Claribel’s eyes widen. “You… you will?”

Not like Bernadetta could blame Claribel. The Publisher was very strict with his position. He worked everyone hard but he was fair. He did have his quirks though, like he didn’t like to be interrupted when he was in important meetings. “If these files are important for the meeting then it would be best to give it to him so we don’t feel his wrath later right?”

“True….good luck Bernie?”

She took the files and hurried to the Publisher’s office in the back of the space. She could feel everyone’s eyes on her as she passed. Of course everyone was thinking the same thing. Quiet Bernadetta was going to interrupt a meeting between the Publisher and the Company President?

Well, normally she would have also avoided doing something like this if she didn’t know the Company President personally.

She squared her shoulders and knocked on the door and then opened it after counting to three. The Publisher stared at her, obviously in mid conversation. He had a PowerPoint up on the wall, graphs of profits on display.

“I brought the files that were requested for the meeting,” said Bernadetta softly, holding up the files in question.

“What…what are you doing?” sputtered the Publisher. “I am in the middle of a meeting.”

“Is this how you always speak to your staff?”

Bernadetta had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from smiling. The Company President leaned back in his seat, his expression shifting from boredom to annoyance. A controlled expression, one she had seen him practice in the mirror, many, many times.

Sylvain, like always when he was in “president” mode, gave off an air of aloofness that matched the expensive suits he could always be found in. In the past couple of years he had taken to growing a beard and it was well trimmed and just added to the overall handsome president look he was giving off.

When she had found out his family owned the publishing house that accepted her for a job, she had asked Sylvain up front if he had gotten her the job. He denied it, saying that he might have made sure her application was seen, but her interview and the final decision was all through her own merit

“Of course not,” stuttered the Publisher.

“Good, you will affect staff morale that way.” Sylvain gestured for Bernadetta to walk over. “Hand over the files and return to your business.”

“Of course…sir,” she said, walking over to him. Sylvain took the files from her and gently tapped her ankle with his foot under the table. She responded with nudging him with her own foot.

“Anyway, shall we continue?” Sylvain opened the files and began looking through it.

Bernadetta hurried out of the room and jumped as the staff surrounded her.

“So?” asked one of the editors. “Was Sylvain Gautier as handsome up close as he is from afar?”

“What did the Publisher say when we walked in with the files?” asked another.

“Where in the world did you get the courage to go in there!?” asked a third.

Bernadetta winced. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to deliver the file after all.

***

“I’m home!” called Sylvain as he opened the front door to the apartment.

“Welcome back!” yelled Bernie.

Sylvain kicked his shoes off and loosened his tie as he walked towards the living room. They had lucked out, getting a nice two bedroom apartment in the city with a large kitchen space and a living room and multiple bathrooms. Well that was how Sylvian put it for Bernie. In actuality, he had found this place when he was shopping around during their final year of undergrad. The rent was way higher than what she could afford with her editor salary but Sylvain managed to convince her to move in here with him taking the brunt of the costs, all she needed to pay was utilities and food. Well, he would have paid utilities as well but she was stubborn about covering some part of the cost, at least until they could finally move in together once he finished grad school.

He walked into the living room and saw Bernie was playing a video game and she was mid-boss fight. He sat on the couch next to her, tapping his finger against his thigh as he waited for her to finish the fight.

As her character on screen committed the final blow, he waited a couple more seconds to make sure there was no cutscene after the fight.

She put down the controller and turned to him just as he tackle hugged her, making sure to rub his beard against her face.

“Sylvain, stop!” she giggled, trying to push him off. When he started growing out the beard, he was pleasantly surprised to find Bernie was ticklish in the face and he took every chance he could to make her giggle, it was just so cute!

“Nuh uh, I’m not letting you go Bernie. I need to recharge from my long work day. And you gave me even more work to look at! Why did you have to come in with those files?”

“I’m sorry.” She patted him on the head. “But Claribel said they were important and I knew I was the only one that could get them in there without getting yelled at.”

“Rude, I would stand up for the other people in the company too.” Sylvain rolled his eyes. “You all do good work over there. He didn’t bother you after I left right?”

She shook her head. “Nope. I think he was happy since the meeting went well.”

“That’s good.” Sylvain sighed in relief.

Bernie turned off the game system. “Here, let me get dinner heated up so we can eat.”

“You sure? I thought it was my turn today?”

“It’s fine, we were planning on just eating the leftovers.” She gestured to the coffee table as she stood, Sylvain already missing having her warmth next to him. “We got some important mail in.”

Sylvain reached for big cream envelope on the table and opened it. He chuckled as he saw the wedding invitation inside. “So Felix and Annette are finally planning on tying the knot huh? They took way too long! I really thought he was going to get married the same time Ingrid and Glenn did, right after we finished grad school.”

“Well according to Annette, Felix liked taking it slow.” Bernie pulled a few containers from the fridge and began the process of heating up every single one of them.

“Slow is one thing, a snail’s pace is another.” Sylvain skimmed the details on the invitation. “Rude! He didn’t offer us a plus one!”

“Well yeah, cause we’re taking each other right?”

“True but _still_. It’s the thought that counts right? I mean my secretary is quite hot.”

Bernie made a face. “Please don’t tell me you two did stuff in your office.”

Sylvain pointedly looked away. “I did tell you to not sit in that one chair when you visited, remember?”

“Sylvain!” Bernie shook her head, obviously trying to get rid of that mental image.

“What! She’s hot!”

“Okay…sure.” With a roll of her eyes, she went back to getting stuff ready for dinner.

Sylvain set the invitation on the table and took out his phone. “Got to make sure I put it in my calendar so I don’t book a meeting or anything…” Once that was down, he entered the kitchen and set up the table.

Once all the food was laid out, Sylvain grabbed the remote and turned on the latest drama they were watching.

“I totally think her brother is not going to be actually related to her,” said Bernie. “So then he can be another love interest.”

“Seriously? That’s such an overused trope.” Sylvain rolled his eyes. Well, either way it was a good drama so far.

As they ate dinner, Sylvain reached over and took Bernie’s hand in his own, their matching ring necklaces glinting in the light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided it would be best to just release the last three chapters at once since we're at the end. This was honestly such a fun story to write and it also pretty much sold me on the Sylbern pairing. lol I have another longer story in the works for them right now, a high school shojo AU that will be an actual ship fic between them written in a similar style as this one. Hopefully I can have the first chapter of that released sometime soon! 
> 
> But in terms of this story, thank you for everyone that stuck with it to the end!


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